John Penn has joined British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB) as head of developing markets.

He moves from Qatar National Bank (QNB) in London where he spent a brief stint since last June leading its trade and commodity finance unit. Previously, Penn was head of structured trade finance at Standard Bank.

In his new role he has been charged with the responsibility of developing new markets in Africa, principally in trade finance.

“We already have an established and profitable business in North Africa and the Middle East, but we are really looking to expand into Sub-Saharan markets too, looking at opportunities in a wide variety of countries, eg Nigeria, Ghana, Angola and Kenya, among others,” Penn notes.

“Our offering will tend towards the shorter end of the trade finance spectrum but also encompass more structured transactions,” he adds.

Penn also confirms to GTR that he will be looking to hire in the coming months to support the growth of the business.