Lloyds strengthens North of England team with three new appointments
Lloyds Banking Group has announced a series of senior appointments to support its growth in the North of England.
A spokesman said the new hires will strengthen Lloyds’ North East and Yorkshire Commercial Banking teams.
Oliver Bell-Syer joins from Santander, where he spent almost eight years as a relationship director in the corporate and commercial teams. He has been appointed relationship director for West and East Yorkshire and will be based at Lloyds’ Wellington Place office in Leeds.
Fiona Steel, who has worked at Lloyds for more than a decade, steps into the role of relationship manager for West Yorkshire. She will also be based at the Wellington Place office, working alongside Mr Bell-Syer to support trading sectors and legal clients across the region.
A spokesman said: “Fiona began her career at Lloyds in 2015, gaining experience in large- and mid-corporate finance. In 2018, she became a relationship manager in the Government team, focusing on public sector organisations across England and Wales. This included supporting local authorities and not-for-profit organisations, specialising in value-added propositions through her role as social value lead. Fiona and Oliver will both report into Paul Varley, area director for West and East Yorkshire, and together bring more than 28 years’ combined experience to Lloyds’ growing Yorkshire team.”
Alexandra King has also been appointed as relationship manager for Tees Valley, North Yorkshire and York.
She will sit within Sonya Atkins’ team, area director for the North East and North Yorkshire, supporting customers across a diverse range of sectors from professional services and hospitality venues to specialist manufacturers and engineering firms.
Paul Varley, area director for West and East Yorkshire, said: “Oliver and Fiona bring exactly the combination of expertise and values we're looking for. Oliver's track record in building strong client relationships across the corporate and SME space, combined with Fiona's deep understanding of the public sector and social value, means our customers across West and East Yorkshire will benefit from genuine partnership banking that looks beyond transactions to understand what businesses really need to succeed.
“Both bring a strong community focus too – Oliver through founding a mental health charity and his work with the York Roundtable, and Fiona through her social value leadership.
“They understand that thriving businesses and thriving communities go hand in hand, and that makes them a real asset to our team.”