The lender said it made these appointments to maintain the improvement of speed and service to brokers, while transacting increasing volumes of business.
UTB Asset Finance has hired Umar Butt as an underwriter, joining from Group BPCE, where he was team leader in flow underwriting. He has 10 years’ experience in financial services working in the SME and consumer sectors, including underwriting across the agricultural, transport, industrial and construction verticals. The lender said he was already adding value to its agricultural offering and engaging with brokers at trade shows.
Tharun Rajagi has also joined from Groupe BPCE, where he was a risk manager, and has been with UTB since January within its flow team as an underwriter developing its high-value care finance proposition.
Further, Grant Watkins has been hired as risk and compliance consultant within the Asset Finance Know Your Customer (KYC) team. He has more than three years of experience in financial crime prevention, specialising in anti-money laundering (AML) investigations, KYC reviews and quality control. Watkins previously worked with FDM Group and KPMG.
Further, UTB has hired Jessica Womack to the payouts team, also joining from Group BPCE. She has also worked at Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) and Renaissance Asset Finance.
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L-R: Umar Butt, Grant Watkins, Jessica Womack, Tharun Rajagi
Nathan Mollett, head of asset finance at UTB, said: “We said we’d be growing the team this year and we meant it. Whilst technology continues to transform the way we all do business, it’s still the people delivering the service who make the biggest difference. We have continued to invest in recruiting experienced and dedicated people across all disciplines.
“Umar, Tharun, Grant and Jessica bring lots of experience to the team and are making an immediate impact as business volumes increase. They bring enthusiasm, specialist knowledge and a commitment to providing excellent service to our broker partners, helping us to develop and deliver the best experience for brokers and customers.”
