Santander raids rivals as it beefs up Scots team

SANTANDER has raided rival Lloyds Banking Group as it looks to beef up its Scottish presence.

The Spanish lender yesterday said it had made four key appointments north of the Border, including a trio of bankers with a collective 58 years’ experience at Lloyds and its Bank of Scotland subsidiary.

Graham Silcock takes up the role of regional director for Scotland following 15 years at Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds. Based in Glasgow, he will lead the corporate and commercial banking team, as well as support the expansion of the group in Scotland.

Andy Mallin, who has spent 26 years at BoS/Lloyds, joins as regional director for commercial property, while Jonathan Kelly comes on board as relationship director for large corporate customers in Scotland and Northern Ireland. He spent 17 years at BoS/Lloyds.

The fourth appointment sees Nick Elder join from Royal Bank of Scotland as Santander’s regional director for education, healthcare and community.

Kevin Boyd, the bank’s divisional managing director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “Over the past few years, Santander has been establishing itself as a major supporter of Scottish businesses and, with this new team in place, I look forward to extending this support across the region.”

• Lloyds is to cut almost 1,000 jobs as part of last year’s broader plans to axe 15,000 posts across the group, it emerged yesterday. Sites in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Romford and Scunthorpe will be closed.