Top business banker jumps from Santander to owner of Virgin Money

Clydesdale Bank owner CYBG has hired a top business banker as it looks to further expand its offering for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Sue will be based in Leeds but travel around the UK in her new role meeting customers. Picture: Contributed

Sue Douthwaite will join the Glasgow-headquartered owner of Virgin Money in September as its small and medium business director.

She has spent the last eight years at rival Santander and has been managing director for Santander Business Bank, responsible for the formation of the SME banking division, since 2016. Prior to this, she worked at Royal Bank of Scotland for 20 years, holding various roles.

Douthwaite, who lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said: “CYBG has the opportunity as a real challenger to shake up the market for business banking in the UK and it is great to be joining the team at this pivotal time.”

She will be based in Leeds but travel around the UK in her new role meeting customers.

Gavin Opperman, group business banking director at CYBG, said: “This is an exciting time in our industry and we have ambitious growth plans to increase our market share and enhance the experience for our customers. Sue will play a vital role in enabling us to delivery our strategy.”

Earlier this month, CYBG hailed a “resilient” performance in its first half and said the integration of Virgin Money was on track.

Releasing its first set of results for the combined business following its £1.7 billion swoop on Virgin Money, the group said the solid outcome came despite intense competition in the mortgage market.

It posted a statutory profit before tax of £42 million for the six months to 31 March, compared with a loss of £95m a year earlier. Underlying profit before tax nudged up 2 per cent to £286m, compared with the second half of 2018, or down 5 per cent, year-on-year.