Bank of Scotland unveils new export business target
The Bank of Scotland has pledged to help Scottish businesses become first-time exporters to boost the nation's economy.
The Bank of Scotland has pledged to help Scottish businesses become first-time exporters to boost the nation's economy.
The bank's commitment is included in the new charter for small and medium enterprises by its parent company Lloyds Banking Group, which sets a target of supporting 5,000 new exporters across the UK in 2016 and 25,000 by 2020.
The charter also pledges to boost lending to small businesses by £1 billion, support 100,000 start-ups and back 1,000 fast-growth businesses during 2016.
Graham Blair, Bank of Scotland's regional director, SME banking Scotland, said: The future success of the Scottish economy hinges on small businesses looking to overseas markets for growth.
Through this new pledge, we want to support a new legion of Scottish exporters, and ultimately to help the Scottish economy to prosper.
We have been working in partnership with UK Trade & Investment for the past year, looking at ways to boost Scottish exports, and through this commitment we hope to contribute towards supporting new exporters.
Successful exporting is no mean feat - and that is why we are investing in both on-the-ground expertise and digital technology, in order to ensure that businesses have the backing they need to succeed.''
Lloyds Banking Group plans to invest a total £450 million in digital technology and training in the next three years, including creating a new international trade portal enabling UK businesses to discover opportunities across the globe.
The group has trained more than 300 UK staff in international trade and also has a network of export specialists across the country to help develop and advise on overseas trading opportunities.