Dr Nicola Bannister has been appointed Lloyds Banking Group’s new Ambassador for Wales.

Nicola, who comes from South Wales, will lead the Group’s work in supporting people, businesses and communities as the nation begins to recover from the impact of COVID-19.

A senior director, she has two decades of experience in the banking and insurance industry and currently leads a team dedicated to supporting Lloyds Banking Group customers in financial difficulty.

In her role as Ambassador, Nicola will work with regional stakeholders, focusing finding ways of helping build financial resilience in Wales, providing support for Welsh businesses and improving the mental health of colleagues, customers and communities across the nation.

Nicola recently took part in The Big Conversation: Helping Britain Recover – a UK-wide series of roundtables organised by the Group and designed to bring people together to examine the best ways of tackling the economic and social effects of the pandemic. In Wales, MPs, debt advice experts and charities met to discuss  how families can overcome economic hardship caused by COVID-19 and the importance of speaking openly about finance and mental health.

Commenting on her new role, Nicola, said:

“It’s an incredibly important time for leaders across Wales to come together and plot the country’s post-COVID recovery. We’re beginning to see an exit strategy take shape thanks to more encouraging vaccine news, which brings with it more certainty for the near future.

“Hopefully, it won’t be long until families and businesses feel they are able to plan for the future and get back on their feet after what’s been an incredibly challenging year. It’s clear, however, that there’ll be further hurdles along the way and our collective support will be vital to communities across the nation. I’m honoured to take up the role of Ambassador for Wales at such a crucial time and I look forward to working with partners across Wales to help our nation recover.’’