The Sheffield-based British Business Bank, the UK’s economic development bank, said it has appointed Richard Bearman and Reinald de Monchy as Co-Chief Banking Officers, with a shared responsibility for all of the organisation’s banking activities for smaller businesses.

Bearman will oversee a new Relationship Management function bringing together a number of existing skillsets across relationship management, account management and customer services. The bank said this will help to support a consistent, integrated and holistic approach towards delivery partners and enable them to create a seamless growth pathway for businesses across the Bank’s products.

De Monchy will oversee the bank’s product teams, which will develop products and manage transactions across the Bank’s Guarantee & Wholesale and Small Business Lending programmes.

It said the two functions will work closely in terms of originating new transactions and sharing market feedback.

Bearman has been with the British Business Bank since 2019. He was previously Managing Director, Small Business Lending at the bank, which included responsibility for the Start Up Loans programme. Prior to joining the Bank, he was the Head of Small Business at HSBC UK and has more than 25 years’ experience in the banking sector. Under his leadership, Start Up Loans has been rated by Forbes as its top-rated Small Business Loan and Start up Loan for each of the last three years.

De Monchy has been with the British Business Bank since 2013 and was part of the team that established the bank. He was previously Managing Director, Guarantee and Wholesale at the Bank, with responsibility for the design and delivery of funding and capital solutions to help increase the flow of finance to smaller businesses.