Clint Eastwood, a former trade finance banker at Standard Chartered, has joined Gii Finance Network as its new chief distribution officer.

Eastwood left Standard Chartered in March after a 22-year career at the bank. He was most recently director of transaction banking, trade asset sales and syndications for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Gii Finance Network is a UK-based specialist provider of structured finance programmes to mid-sized and large corporates. In his new role, Eastwood will help bring the Gii brand to a wider market and develop the trade finance business within the company.

He tells GTR that joining Gii was “a bit of a no-brainer, given my background with the banks, with the relationships, being able to bring fresh people, fresh institutions into Gii”.

“For me, having been at Standard Chartered for so long, to come to somewhere where the ideas are fresh and to be able to have your voice heard properly and clearly, it’s so refreshing,” Eastwood says. “You feel like you are actually making a difference and you’re part of the process from end to end, rather than just being a component. Gii has the aspirations of a big player but the flexibility to work with those corporates that maybe some of the banks have forgotten or don’t give as big a focus as they used to.”

He adds that the company will be looking to further expand its team “in the not too distant future” as the volumes of Gii’s mandates grow.

Gii’s CEO Glenn Inniss comments on the new hire: “We’re thrilled to have Clint joining the team. With his background, I think this is a massive scoop for us to get somebody of his calibre.”