Gavin Keyte has been appointed head of credit at Recognise Bank.

He joins the new SME bank and business lender from Allica Bank, where he was head of credit, and brings with him experience gained from 28 years in the industry, which includes major credit and risk roles at lenders such as Lloyds Banking Group and Allied Irish Bank.

Keyte (pictured) has expertise in SME and corporate lending, including leveraged finance and asset finance, as well as specialising in credit underwriting, policy and regulatory compliance.

Keyte said: “I’m delighted to be joining Recognise Bank. Its focus on building real personal relationships with SMEs completely aligns with my views on how best to support the small business sector. Every business is different, so it’s vital that lenders have people with experience of SMEs to understand both their challenges and their opportunities.

“This an exciting time in the Bank’s development, but also a great opportunity for Recognise to support UK entrepreneurs and companies looking for finance to help them grow.”

Mark Bampton, chief credit officer for Recognise Bank, added: “The UK’s SMEs are poorly served because so many of the mainstream banks have automated their lending and removed the people with real expert knowledge of business sectors and their financial needs.

“In Gavin we have somebody with a huge amount of experience of lending to the SME sector and a great understanding of what makes them tick. He will be a great asset in helping to shape our proposition as we increase our lending to small businesses by developing strong relationships with business owners and truly understanding their business.”