BANK of Scotland is planning to increase the size of its mid-market and SME corporate lending teams amid growing demand.

Alasdair Gardner, regional managing director for commercial banking, expects to add between six and 10 Scottish based senior relationship directors across 2015 as well as hiring for further roles in support functions.

Mr Gardner said his part of the business employs around 100 people across its 16 offices in Scotland and he is targeting a 10 per cent increase in the mid-market team and a five per cent uplift in headcount at the SME operation.

Bank of Scotland's corporate lending is expected to be around seven per cent ahead year-on-year in 2014 and it is still seeing good demand for the coming 12 months.

Mr Gardner, who is typically involved in lending to businesses with turnover of between £1m and £750m, said the liquidity position of parent Lloyds Banking Group meant there are no problems in funding growing clients

He said: "The confidence we are seeing from our clients is giving us confidence. We have just signed off to increase our headcount.

"We are live in that recruitment process now reflecting the growth we have had but also building in further growth as we think our model works and the Scottish economy is in pretty good shape."

According to Mr Gardner the bank remains keen to grow staff numbers in Aberdeen in spite of recent oil price falls causing a great deal of uncertainty across the oil and gas sector.

He also pointed out that falling fuel prices are likely to benefit other sectors of the economy including transport, logistics and manufacturing.

He said: "We are doing a lot of work with people on how the protect downside on commodity prices. "Because we understand the [oil and gas] sector we know there is good business there.

"I'm investing to grow our team in Aberdeen, which gives you our view of the space. We are not there for the next two years, but the next 20 to 200 years.

"We need a bigger team because of the size of franchise we have there. Just because the price is fluctuating doesn't mean we have any less ambition to support clients in that space."

While the central belt and the major cities are where much of the bank's resources are concentrated Mr Gardner pointed out it has retained managers with lending authority on islands including Lewis, Orkney and Shetland.

The majority of lending decisions on Scottish businesses are said to be taken by local directors with SME managers being given autonomy on sums of up to £1 million.

Mr Gardner feels Bank of Scotland is reaping the benefit of getting its bankers more closely attuned to the demands of certain sectors which has included sending them on training courses in areas including manufacturing and tourism.

He said: "We are relatively pleased with where we are. We have restructured our business to give more focus to key sectors. We want close relationship from geographic point of view and clients want people who are knowledgeable about the sector they are in.

"Our differentiator is the relationships our teams build with clients and their knowledge oftheir sectors. It is not just about turning up to sell product."

Corporate clients are also likely to see tangible differences in the bank's digital offering in the coming year.

While Mr Gardner did not want to reveal specific details of what is in the digital pipeline he pointed out Bank of Scotland had launched a mobile device app for retail customers in the past 12 months.

While noting headwinds such as the UK General Election and disruption in a number of key export markets Mr Gardner was upbeat about prospects for the year ahead.

He said: "2014 has seen a really good recovery in Scotland. We go into 2015 with a much stronger momentum than we went into2014 with and it is about how we continue that."