Lloyds Bank has appointed a new SME head of trade within its global transaction banking (GTB) division.

Based in London, with a national remit, David Weatherhead will lead a team of trade specialists to expand the support Lloyds Bank offers SME exporters and businesses looking to trade internationally for the first time.

He will be responsible for a range of products and services designed specifically to help SME clients export with confidence, including trade and export finance and Lloyds Bank’s recently launched International Trade Portal, designed to help businesses identify and prioritise the best overseas opportunities for their products or services and mitigate the potential pitfalls they might face.

Weatherhead joins the bank’s mid market’s team, and reports to Andrew Charnley, national sales director for Lloyds Banking Group SME GTB.

Charnley comments on the appointment: “We recently conducted some research which showed that nearly a third of British businesses expect their exports to increase over the next six months, and David’s international trade experience will see him play an integral role in how we support these firms’ ambitions.”

Weatherhead adds: “We’ve pledged to support 5,000 first-time exporters in 2017 as part of our ‘Helping Britain Prosper’ plan, so this is an exciting time to join Andrew’s team. Small to medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and we have a range of tailored solutions to suit firms’ import and export needs.”