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We caught up with Richard Bearman, Managing Director for Small Business Lending at the British Business Bank, to talk small business finance and fulfilling the mission...

It's fair to say that business is in Richard Bearman's blood. His father is an entrepreneur and, as a teenager and while at university – with varying degrees of success – Bearman Jnr. started several businesses. During his early working life, he explored different industries, ranging from teaching, to retail, to working for a coal mining company in Arkansas.

"I fell into Banking in 1999 when I started working for HSBC and quickly discovered a real passion for their commercial business and in particular supporting smaller businesses," Bearman explains.

His last role at HSBC was as the UK Head of Small Business, responsible for their 850,000 small business customers.

"In 2019 I joined the British Business Bank to run the Start Up Loans (SULs) scheme and explore other microfinance opportunities. When a few months later Covid hit, I was asked to look after one of the biggest micro finance schemes ever – Bounce Back Loans. While Bounce Back Loans remains really important now that we are beyond the Covid19 crisis, it is great to have more time to focus on start-up and early-stage businesses and develop the support that we can provide."