SMBC has appointed Steve Robson as co-head of transaction banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea).

Robson joins SMBC from HSBC, where he was global head of liquidity for its international wealth and premier banking division.

He will be based in London and report directly to Elena Paitra, head of corporate and investment banking for Emea.

As part of SMBC’s global transaction banking leadership team, he will also report to Takenori Senoo.

Robson’s fellow co-head is Takero Ubukata.

The Tokyo-headquartered bank hopes the new hire will help it deepen its transaction banking offering as it seeks to provide “a comprehensive suite of trade-related services across payments, collections, FX, settlement and liquidity management”.

In August, GTR reported that SMBC was stepping up its focus on transaction banking products in its bid to become a “one-stop solution” for trade clients and shrink low-profit assets.

Robson has more than 20 years of experience in cash management, global payments and liquidity solutions. Before HSBC, he spent 14 years at Citi, where his roles included treasury and trade solutions head for the UK and Jersey.

He also worked for several years at Barclays, with his last role at the bank being international commercial director for Barclaycard’s card acquiring service.

“Steve’s appointment reflects our commitment to building a world-class transaction banking business,” says Paitra.

“His deep expertise and leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale our offering and deliver long-term value to our clients.” 

In April this year, SMBC named Mitsuhiro Kawamura as the global head of its global trade finance department.