Lloyds banker joins Marsh as UK CRO

Marsh has appointed Matt Kimber as its chief risk officer in the UK.

Kimber joins Marsh from Lloyds Banking Group where he held a variety of executive operational and risk management positions.

Most recently, he was head of integration risk for the group during their merger with HBOS having previously led the global approach to operational risk for six years. His former roles include director of operational risk at Arthur Andersen and co-founder of a consultancy focusing on risk systems and framework advice.

Martin South, chief executive of Marsh UK said: 'Given Matt’s extensive financial services background and track record for innovation, we are confident he will make a strong contribution to Marsh’s own risk management strategies.'

“Most recently, Kimber was head of integration risk for the group during their merger with HBOS.

Kimber said: “Every company needs to be aware of its risk tolerance and decide strategies for mitigating the risks it is not prepared to accept. Risk is Marsh’s business: we will follow the same advice we give our clients, which is that when we take risk, we do so consciously.

'We are a driven business with a culture of creativity and innovation and will bring the same ethos to our own risk management.'

Lloyds Banking Group has found itself in financial difficulty after being encouraged by the government to rescue another British bank, HBOS, after it built up huge exposures to toxic subprime assets. Lloyds has lost around $35.7bn since 2007, according to the Reuters news agency.

Losses by banks between 2007 and 2010 are expected to reach almost $2.5 trillion, roughly split between losses on securities and bad debts on loans, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.