New Commercial Banking director joins TSB - with a mission to bring "local" back to business banking

9th January 2018

TSB launched back onto high streets across Britain in September 2013 with a mission to bring more competition to UK banking – to be a challenger to the big banks and to deliver the kind of banking the people of Britain want and deserve.

Since its launch, TSB has focused on breaking the stranglehold that the big five banks have had on the consumer banking market. In 2018 TSB plans to broaden this focus to include helping more local businesses right across the UK to thrive.

Richard Davies has now joined the Bank as Commercial Banking Director – a newly created role within TSB’s Executive Team to spearhead the Bank’s ramp up in business banking.

TSB’s Commercial Banking Director, Richard Davies, says: “It’s great to start the year on the ground at TSB as we get set to launch the future of local banking for businesses in 2018. I’m looking forward to seeing us take on the business banking market in the same way that TSB has already challenged consumer banking.

“Small businesses in the UK have been under-served, under-valued and over-charged for far too long. It is absolutely critical that we address the stagnation of productivity in the UK – small business is right at the heart of that challenge. There’s a real moment of opportunity to create something better for businesses in the UK with the next generation of business banking and TSB is going to be leading the charge.

“I’ve always been inspired by the capacity of small businesses to ride the economic waves, create jobs, and serve local communities. We need to bring back “local” to business banking. Local communities need local businesses, and TSB will play a big part in making that happen. I’m looking forward to growing our commercial banking team at TSB to really deliver on that potential.”

TSB’s CEO, Paul Pester, says: “We’re setting out to strengthen our support for local businesses that form the lifeblood of the UK economy – and bring much-needed competition to the business banking market from 2018. I’m delighted to welcome Richard to TSB as our new Commercial Banking Director to make that happen.

“The combination of Richard's entrepreneurial flair seen at OakNorth Bank, combined with his experience in leading commercial banking arms at HSBC and Barclays means he will be a real catalyst to develop TSB’s ambitions in this area.”

TSB’s new state-of-the-art banking platform will unlock even greater SME capability for TSB in 2018 and positions the Bank well to compete for one of the grants from the Capability and Innovation Fund recently announced by the UK Government and designed to boost competition in the business banking market. The Bank will be submitting a bid for a Pool A grant¹.

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Notes to editors

¹The purpose of the Capability and Innovation Fund is to encourage eligible bodies to (i) develop and improve their capability to compete with RBS in the provision of banking services to SMEs; and (ii) develop and improve the financial products and services which are available to SMEs. More information can be found on the HM Treasury website.

About Richard Davies

Richard Davies has broad experience of building and leading commercial banking, with a particular passion for SMEs and digital innovation.

Richard previously joined HSBC in 2014 as Chief Operating Officer for the UK Commercial Bank, responsible for a range of areas including lending products, business and regulatory change, client on-boarding and digital transformation. In 2016, Richard moved to a global role at HSBC focused on driving strategic change for clients, with a design led focus on digital innovation and client experience.

Prior to joining HSBC, Richard was CEO of SME focused challenger bank OakNorth, where he led the process to design the business model, develop regulatory licence submissions, and recruit the team to enter the UK market.

Previously, Richard spent 9 years in senior roles at Barclays including Managing Director for UK Global Corporates, and Head of South East Commercial Banking.

Richard has a MA Economics and M.Phil Development Economics from Trinity Hall Cambridge.

About TSB

TSB was built to bring more competition to UK banking and ultimately make banking better for all UK consumers. TSB only serves local customers and local businesses, to help fuel local economies, because communities thriving across Britain is a good thing for all of us.

We have a simple, straightforward and transparent banking model and make clear on our website how we operate and make money. We offer the products and services people tell us they want, with none of the funny stuff people normally associate with traditional banks.

Our five million customers appear to notice: TSB is Britain’s most recommended high street bank and was recently identified as one of the top 10 big companies to work for.

For further information about TSB Bank plc, please visit our website www.tsb.co.uk.