British Business Bank names UKEF chief Taylor as new boss

A former executive at Standard Chartered has been named the new chief executive of the government’s under-fire British Business Bank (BBB).

Louis Taylor will be the permanent successor to Keith Morgan, who resigned in 2020.

Mr Taylor is the current chief executive of UK Export Finance, the government’s export credit agency.

Before joining UK Export Finance, Louis Taylor had a career in banking and corporate finance, most recently with Standard Chartered Bank where he held positions as Chief Operating Officer for Group Treasury and also as CEO, Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia. His early career included eight years in investment banking for JP Morgan and seven years running strategy and acquisitions for Cookson Group plc and Invensys.

His appointment comes after a tumultuous period for the BBB, whose interim boss, Catherine Lewis La Torre, withdrew from the search process amid controversy over its handling of the government’s COVID lending schemes.

Lord Agnew resigned as a minister earlier this year, citing the failure to tackle rampant fraud that is expected to crystallise billions of pounds of losses for British taxpayers.

He expressed concerns that banks were not doing enough to address the issue and asked whether the BBB was holding them to account in order to protect public money.

The BBB was closely involved in the design of the Treasury’s various emergency loan schemes during the pandemic.

Last year, Ms Lewis La Torre earned a total package worth £295,400.

It was unclear how much Mr Taylor would be paid.

Welcoming Louis Taylor’s appointment, Lord Smith of Kelvin, Chair, British Business Bank said: “Louis is a highly respected, strategic leader, with more than 30 years’ banking and corporate finance experience and a strong track record of success. He has successfully led UK Export Finance for more than six years and has made a considerable contribution to the agency since he joined in 2015. I am delighted that he has agreed to take on the role of CEO 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.”