TWO new senior commercial relationship managers have joined the Royal Bank of Scotland's Ipswich commercial banking team.Ian Johnson recently moved from Barclays to RBS, and Colin Stanford joins from Lombard, the RBS Group's asset finance arm.

TWO new senior commercial relationship managers have joined the Royal Bank of Scotland's Ipswich commercial banking team.

Ian Johnson recently moved from Barclays to RBS, and Colin Stanford joins from Lombard, the RBS Group's asset finance arm.

They have taken up their roles, which encompass customers from RBS and its subsidiary Natwest, with immediate effect.

Mr Johnson brings over 20 years' banking experience to the organisation, 15 of which have been in the commercial banking arena.

Familiar to the local Suffolk business community, he has an established presence within Ipswich and Felixstowe and has spent the last six years looking after local commercial businesses. He is married with children aged three and five and lives locally.

Mr Stanford has been with the RBS Group for nearly 30 years, operating in the corporate market for the past seven. He is very familiar with East Anglia, having worked and lived in the region for many years. He is married with two children aged 16 and 14.

The two will be responsible for providing innovative and fit-for-purpose banking solutions to new and existing commercial customers with turnover ranging between £1million and £25million.

Director of commercial banking Mark Spinks said he was delighted to welcome them both.

“Both have great pedigree and are top quality additions to a team that has performed at a very high level for many years in Ipswich,” he said.

“These appointments are a key part of our overall investment strategy for 2007, reflecting our strong desire to increase our presence and market share in Suffolk, building on the success we have enjoyed for a number of years.”