Steve Keast Email and Phone Number

We are a team of highly experienced finance professionals with an understanding of the Banking and Asset Finance market. Our objective is to deliver unparralled service to our clients and to become one of their most trusted business partners. We can offer Asset Finance solutions, Invoice Discounting and Property finance facilities through access to our extensive panel of Banks and Funders. We have experience across all market sectors working with SMEs and large corporate clients. The directors of the business are Sue Chapman, former Senior Director of Asset Finance at Lombard and Dave Chapman, former Head of the Business development Property Team at RBS.

• Evaluate and report on Commercial businesses where early identification of stress triggers was key to turning around failing companies.• Designed as a response to the Credit Crunch in 2008 and played a key role in the development of the role from its inception. • Utilised the Banks systems along with the customer’s financial and Non-Financial information such as Annual account, Management information and Companies House data. • Worked as an intermediary between front line managers and Credit analysts to ensure that customers were situated in the correct risk area. • Actively identifying target sectors and customer types for special investigation and then delivering the reviews and finding to national board level along with any recommendations. • A period of secondment onto a special project to report long term excesses to the FSA where accuracy and timeliness of information was utmost.• Specially chosen from a cadre of 16 to undertake a pilot project to trial a change in working practices. My abilities in organisation and accuracy of output were key here. • Acted as a secretariat on Regional and National conference calls where high level stressed cases were discussed. During this task I implemented a new method for the recording of minutes to allow a more accurate record of the discussion to be made and therefore the removal of any doubt.

• The primary point of contact for 55 commercial relationships within NatWest for all banking requirements including lending, invoice discounting and Asset finance. • Customer with between £2m and £15m turnover per annum and between £500k and £5m of borrowing.• Structuring and obtaining sanction for lending products and working capital facilities through assessment of financial performance, credit worthiness and security.• Line management responsibilities for a direct report assistant. Initially and then three portfolio managers following a change in the support structure. • Relationship management role to enhance the reputation of myself and the Bank through a structured contact program on both a proactive and reactionary basis. • Developing a working interaction with internal and external personal including Credit function, product partners and external accountants and other professionals. • Attending networking events to again promote the Bank.• New business prospecting to grow the portfolio with new borrowing and non-borrowing customers. Deliver against demanding targets for income and product sales in an ever increasing environment of corporate governance and legislation

• A direct assistant to a Senior Commercial Relationship Manager. • Involvement in the day to day service requests of the customer base with tasks ranging from initial discussions for lending opportunities, to authorising encashments and detail amendments.• Establishing relationships with the customers and also local solicitors, accountants and surveyors when required to progress ongoing deals. • Diary management to enact the contact strategy and also reactionary appointments as required.• Preparation for each meeting in the form of accurate and up to date information on each customer and also details of any opportunities that could be seen to further increase the income for the Bank or to match a current product to the customers need. • Identifying opportunities for potential prospects through local research and evaluation.• Taking on a shadow portfolio with my line managers’ customers to develop my relationship management skills.

• Point of contact for 1500 lower end business customers with annual turnover of £1 to £250k.• Dealt with small lending requests, change of details and sales opportunities• Account opening for New to Bank customers including identification and UN Sanctions procedures• All related administrative duties