His arrival fills the void on the trading desk in London created by Grima’s departure and Simon Lay’s assumption of additional responsibilities connected with his promotion to managing director.

Knight will start with LFC as senior trader and will help expand trading and business development activities. He joins from Hungarian International, where he was director of trading.

LFC’s business has continued to grow steadily over the last two years, says Lay, “and the development of our portfolio, both in terms of growing size and diversity has helped us build a solid base upon which we intend to develop our activities further. Whilst forfaiting and syndicated loans remain our core businesses, we are now able to offer our clients a more comprehensive range of trade finance related products, working in close association with our banking shareholder, Fimbank.”

For 2006, LFC will continue this business development, but will also place emphasis and resources on developing the liabilities side of its balance sheet by extending bank lines and borrowing facilities.

Paul Bohannon, business manager at LFC will help Lay with this process. “This process has already started successfully this year and we have concluded a number of one-year funding facilities against promissory notes issued by LFC and guaranteed by Fimbank,” says Lay. “Such funding provides an interesting compliment to the direct loan facilities provided by our parent as well as helping diversify the groups funding facilities.