Small businesses in Swindon can now get support from a new relationship manager at Lloyds Bank.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has appointed a new regional director to support small-to-medium sized businesses working across Central England.

Joanna Costin now heads up a team of around 100 relationship managers providing support to businesses in Central England, including Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes, Reading, and Swindon.

She joins from Hastings Direct, where she worked in a business development and customer experience role, and has more than 17 years of banking experience in both business and consumer banking with Barclays.

The team has a strong portfolio of clients covering all sectors, including manufacturing, property, agriculture, and health and education.

Joanna Costin, regional director for SME banking in Central England, said: “Periods of economic uncertainty can be quite challenging for small and medium-sized businesses but having the support of relationship managers with specialist expertise can help them navigate through difficult times.

“Creating relationships that help clients achieve their business ambitions is at the heart of what we do and it’s a big part of our wider plan to help Britain prosper. For businesses, this includes help for 100,000 start-ups in 2017 and a pledge to increase lending to SMEs and mid-sized companies by £2billion during 2017.”