BANK of Scotland has hired a former senior director at a rival to head up its small and medium enterprise banking operation in Glasgow and the west of the Scotland.

Scott McKerracher had spent three decades in the financial services sector with Clydesdale Bank having joined it straight from school.

After learning his trade in the retail side of the business Mr McKerracher had stints in business and corporate banking.

In 2002 he was appointed as the head of commercial banking in Glasgow.

He then became managing partner of the bank’s financial solutions centre in the city before moving on to regional director roles around Scotland.

Most recently he was regional director for the east of Scotland for Clydesdale overseeing functions such as corporate and acquisition finance as well as commercial, small business and private banking.

On top of that he also had responsibility for commercial banking across the UK and managing the national industry sector team run by the bank.

Now he has joined Bank of Scotland with a remit to “develop and grow” its SME business in the west of the country which typically deals with companies with revenue of between £1 million and £25m.

He said: “The role also puts me much closer to customers and the professional [services] market. Really getting out and helping businesses in and around Glasgow and the west of Scotland which are looking to grow.”

Mr McKerracher believes confidence levels across the Scottish business scene are improving.

He said: “There is a lot of businesses that have capital expenditure plans or have working capital needs as their business is growing. There are more businesses out there doing things.”

Graham Blair, area director of SME Banking for Scotland, said: “With three decades experience working with Scotland’s business community, the past eight years of which has been dedicated to supporting the country’s small and medium sized firms, Scott brings considerable knowledge and expertise to our business.”