Lloyds Bank has appointed Linda Weston as its new and first Head of Commercial to drive capital for the UK bank.
In the newly created role, Weston will oversee Lloyds’ capital needs and support its wider strategy of boosting the bank’s working capital team.
Weston will report to Chris Loring, Managing Director of Lending and Working Capital, and will seek to enhance and maintain Lloyds’ relationship with clients and meet future targets, such as expanding the delivery of traditional card products, as well as electronic pay solutions.
Loring said: “Linda brings a deep understanding of supporting businesses with their working capital needs.
“Linda will spearhead our plans to deliver exciting new products and services. Her energy, passion, customer focus and commitment to transform will help us harness the latest technology innovations to deliver a best-in-class client experience.”
Linda’s career spans 25 years in the cards and payments industry and brings extensive cards, product and transformation experience from roles held at Barclaycard Payments, J.P. Morgan and Royal Bank of Scotland.
“I’m thrilled to be leading the newly created Commercial Cards product team, helping the UK’s businesses to be more efficient and manage their working capital and payments needs,” commented Weston on her new role.
“Lloyds Bank is investing significantly in new client propositions and services such as enabling startup businesses to apply for cards online in minutes.”
Elsewhere in the Lloyd’s management team, the UK high street bank announced that it will be axing its risk management staff after an internal review found the function was a “blocker to our strategic transformation”.
The bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Stephen Shelley, said that two-thirds of executives believed risk management was blocking progress while “less than half our workforce believe intelligent risk-taking is encouraged”.