Lloyds Bank celebrated its close to its Birmingham roots with a commitment to a 鈥榖ack to basics鈥 approach more than six years on from the financial crisis.
As executives assembled at the NEC to celebrate the anniversary of the bank鈥檚 founding in Dale End, Birmingham, on June 3 1765, Tim Hinton, the bank鈥檚 managing director, SME and Mid-Markets Banking, told the Post of the bank鈥檚 new focus.
Mr Hinton said the banking sector was still working to regain the trust of the public following the October 2008 crisis 鈥 but old principles of meeting clients鈥 needs were at the forefront of Lloyds鈥 strategy.
He welcomed the recent election result with the return of a 鈥榖usiness-friendly鈥 government 鈥 and said West Midlands manufacturing was growing faster than many other parts of the economy.
Mr Hinton said: 鈥淭he new Lloyds has been determined to go back to its roots where relationships mean so much and get back to the basics of trust and security and responsibility in what we do.
鈥淲e are very focused on the 海角视频 as a business, over 90 per cent of our business is generated in the 海角视频, we are an integral part of the 海角视频 economy.
鈥淚 think that the whole industry lost its way for a little while and those of us who work in banks are determined to get it back. In 2014 we increased our SME lending in the Midlands by approximately 拢269 million.
鈥淲e helped more than 4,000 start-ups get off the ground in the Midlands in the first quarter of this year alone 鈥 approximately a fifth of the total so far for the 海角视频.
鈥淲e needed to take stock, stay calm and get back to basics. Banking got a very bad press for a while but we have tried to form our strategy, stick to it and help the business get back to basics.
鈥淚t will take a long time to regain trust but it is about getting back to basics and running a sound bank. It is quite an important milestone for the group to get things back on track.鈥
Mr Hinton said the sector was 鈥榖eginning to learn its lessons.鈥
He said: 鈥淚 am not saying it is job done but it is still ongoing.
鈥淲e had a tough few years of hard graft. It is going back to those old principles of meeting clients鈥 needs and having trusting relationships.
鈥淚t is about marrying those characteristics with the new digital world. Confidence levels generally across business in the 海角视频 are incredibly high and they have been for a while.
鈥淥il and gas are going through a bit of a change in fortunes because of the oil price drop but generally, the 海角视频 is doing well.
鈥淚t is a very significant turnaround, particularly in the last two years.鈥
He described the 2008 bailout crisis as a 鈥榗rescendo.鈥
He said: 鈥淭he fundamental reason was that the cost of credit got too cheap. Companies were over-leveraged and relied too much on bank debt.
鈥淟loyds was organised under a new chief executive who joined in 2011. He agreed a recovery strategy and executed it. Our bank is very well capitalised now and it is doing good, sensible banking. It is the 海角视频鈥檚 largest retail and commercial bank.
鈥淭he West Midlands and the Midlands is really important business for us because of our history and roots here. This is one of our strongholds.
鈥淟loyds has a market share of 20 per cent in general and in the Midlands, it is a bit higher.
鈥淚n the West Midlands confidence is high, much improved. Jaguar Land Rover is just one success story but there are many companies around that, as part of the supply chain.
鈥淚t is great to see JLR鈥檚 export success, and I would like to see many 海角视频 companies go down that export path. I really hope that we can encourage more companies to export.
鈥淚 see manufacturing growing faster than other areas of the economy. We are right behind creating wealth. There has been an absolute sea change. It is a relatively good outlook for the 海角视频, and especially for the Midlands.鈥
Mr Hinton said the EU membership referendum would be a key milestone for the 海角视频.
鈥淲hichever way the vote goes, continental Europe will be our biggest trading partner. If it was purely economic, we would stay in, but because it is a political question, who knows what the country will decide to do?
鈥淚t will lead to uncertainty and it will be good to get it away. It is a personal decision for the country to take.
鈥淭he good news is that this Government is going to be more business-friendly than other Governments might have been.
鈥淚 am reasonably optimistic that our economy will continue to grow and improve, with 2.5 per cent to three per cent growth.鈥
