HSBC has named Vivek Ramachandran as its new global head of global trade and receivables finance (GTRF), effective immediately.

He takes over from Vinay Mendonca, global head of product, propositions and structuring, and Ajay Sharma, regional head of GTRF. Mendonca and Sharma have been serving as GTRF co-heads since Natalie Blyth left the position in January to take up the newly created role of global head of commercial banking sustainability.

This new role marks a return to HSBC for Ramachandran, who first joined the bank in 2015 as global head of product and propositions for GTRF. In 2017, he became the bank’s global head of growth and innovation, before leaving in 2019 to set up Serai, an HSBC-backed online B2B platform.

Before HSBC and Serai, Ramachandran ran the global transaction banking business at Barclays and held senior management positions at Lloyds.

Currently based in Hong Kong, Ramachandran will relocate to London next year. In his new role, he reports jointly to Barry O’Byrne, CEO of global commercial banking, and Greg Guyett, co-CEO of global banking and markets.

Welcoming Ramachandran to the role, O’Byrne says: “We’re really excited to have Vivek rejoin HSBC to advance our sustainable trade finance agenda, expand our product propositions, and further cement our position as the world’s leading trade bank.”

Andrew Dennison, who currently leads Serai’s supply chain solutions, will now become the platform’s CEO.