BCRS Business Loans has turned to youth in its drive to meet the demand for finance from West Midland’s based businesses.
Wesley Lovett, 29, and Neil Johnston, 33, have joined the ten-strong BCRS team at its Wolverhampton Science Park head office to support the increasing number of businesses looking for loans to grow.
Wesley joins BCRS as a new Business Development Manager following an 11 year career in commercial banking, of which the most recent 6 years were at Barclays. On his appointment Wesley commented, “I’ve always had a passion for lending money to businesses and found it the most rewarding part of the roles I held in the commercial banking sector.
“I thoroughly enjoy customer contact and like to help people and their businesses. BCRS has an excellent reputation with an ethical approach to lending which sees them put their customers to the fore. Before BCRS makes a decision, we look at how the business is placed in the economic sector, then at the management and how they perform; at their trading cycle, their strengths, weaknesses and threats. Unless you look closely at the background of a company, the figures alone don’t mean anything.
“For me, joining BCRS was an easy decision as I believe I fit in well with their co-operative values and culture,” Wesley concludes.
Wesley’s banking experience includes retail, operational and business banking.
Neil Johnston joins BCRS in the newly created role of Portfolio Manager. As an experienced banker following a 10 year career with Lloyds, Neil will be drawing upon his extensive knowledge to support customers on the existing loan book. He will also promote BCRS’s established capabilities in providing support to businesses unable to access finance from traditional sources such as banks.
“I’m delighted to be joining BCRS. I am looking forward to coming into contact with all kinds of businesses, from start-ups to established.
“The past few years have been very tough on the SME sector. BCRS is an organisation with a clear vision and a drive to assist SME’s in developing their businesses. I find this an exciting prospect and my position with BCRS represents a wonderful opportunity to make a positive impact on the local business community during what remains a continuing and challenging economic climate.”
Neil’s banking experience includes credit management, client relationships and commercial banking.
Paul Kalinauckas, 59, Chief Executive of BCRS, said; “We are delighted to have been able to attract commercial young bankers to our team, who see BCRS as a good career move. We are excited about our new structure, which demonstrates BCRS’s commitment to its customers’ growth and the non-bank lending market as a whole.
“We grew by over 40% last year and these new appointments will help shape and direct our plans. We look forward to benefiting from the insight, dynamism and experience that they will bring to BCRS now and into the future.”
