Before coming to banking, Lloyds Bank commercial banking's head of global transaction banking Ed Smith worked for range of different companies – from car manufacturer Rover to drinks company Diageo. The skills and experience he has picked up along the way are helping him to put a new spin on the global transaction banking business at Lloyds.

Cars, drinks, glass, insurance and now banking. Ed Smith, head of global transaction banking at Lloyds Bank commercial banking, unlike his predecessor – and many others in the industry – is not a career banker and has worked across a number of sectors. “When I left university I had a fixed view that I wanted to learn my trade across different industries,” he says.

He chose the automotive industry first, working for the Rover Group for a number of years, attracted by the processes, tools and manufacturing capabilities the industry had at the time. And when it comes to products, there are comparisons that can be made with the auto industry and banking: “In the car industry you do not test cars out on customers – you design them in a way that it is going to be right first time,” he says.

People in Generation X (born between the 1960s and 1980s) and Y (born between the 1980s and early 2000s), he says, may not remember a time when that was not the case – they are used to riding in something that never fails. “It is no longer remotely acceptable to introduce products that backfire,” he says, and this applies to the banking industry.

Mr Smith also had a spell in fast-moving consumer goods, working for drinks company Diageo. He then moved to Pilkington where he was group procurement director for the glass company. In the glass industry, he says, he learned how to do things with the minimum of resources and how to get the best out of people. Then, he moved into the financial services industry, becoming chief operating officer of RBS Insurance, which included at the time the brands Direct Line and Churchill. 

Four years ago, in April 2010, he moved to Lloyds Banking Group and became managing director of operations. Since he has been in his current role, which he stepped into in October 2013, Mr Smith has led the integration of commercial finance and transaction banking to combine them as the new global transaction banking business within Lloyds Banking Group’s commercial bank. “They are two contrasting businesses that make a lot of sense when you put them together,” he says. 

One of his challenges, he explains, is to harness the energy that the transaction banking teams – who are typically outward-facing – direct toward their clients, and bring that passion and enthusiasm so that it also resonates internally within the banking group.

The wider Lloyds Banking Group – which includes the Halifax, Scottish Widows, Lloyds Bank, TSB, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank brands – has also undergone a restructuring, led by chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio. In its 2013 results, the banking group reported that its 'simplification programme' meant that the bank had invested in products and services for its customers, and had also reduced costs and improved efficiency.

“We are looking to bring in more talent," explains Mr Smith. "We have the resources to continue to build out capability in global transaction banking." He adds that the bank has been investing seven-figure sums in training and its propositions. “We are growing our trade propositions – that is one area that we are particularly proud of. There is a huge opportunity in trade products."

The commercial banking division supports businesses of all sizes – ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to global corporates – and is focused on UK and UK-linked businesses. Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking pledged in its 2014 SME ‘growth charter’ to boost lending to SMEs by £1bn ($1.68bn) and increase lending through trade finance for overseas business by 25% during 2014.

The bank has also launched a ‘helping Britain prosper’ campaign, and Mr Smith believes that helping UK exporters is in line with that idea. “From the point of view of helping Britain prosper and the whole export push, I see that as very natural. This has been a trading island for centuries. We have always created our wealth through the export market,” he says.

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