British Business Bank hires UKEF chief as new boss
The British Business Bank has appointed Louis Taylor from UK Export Finance as its new chief executive officer.
Taylor is currently chief executive officer of UK Export Finance, the government’s export credit agency, which he joined in 2015.
Prior to that, he worked at Standard Chartered Bank, where he held a variety of positions, including chief operating officer for group treasury and as chief executive of the bank’s Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia operations.
He takes over from Catherine Lewis La Torre, who was appointed as interim chief executive in September 2020. She will continue in her role through to Autumn to ensure an orderly transition, the bank said in statement.
“I am delighted that he has agreed to take on the role of chief executive and look forward to working with him as we support the UK’s economic recovery through the Bank’s debt and equity programmes, launch the Next Generation of Regional Funds, and also continue to address fraud and financial crime in relation to the Covid-19 loan schemes,” said Lord Smith of Kelvin, chair of the British Business Bank.
He added that he is working closely with La Torre to “define her future role” and that he is “delighted that she intends to stay with the bank”.
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The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank, which was established in November 2014. It was responsible for running the government’s coronavirus business loan schemes, as well as the Future Fund.
The bank has been under pressure in the last year to recover cash that was lost to fraud during the roll-out of the Covid-19 loan schemes. Former government efficiency minister Lord Agnew previously asked a committee of members of parliament that its board should be fired, while accusing it of presiding over “one of the most colossal cock-ups in recent government management”.
Read more: Tory Lord defends government’s handling of Covid loan fraud