A mid-level playing field

Many banks across Europe are increasingly peddling derivatives to smaller corporate customers, and Lloyds TSB has been as active as any other, expanding its structuring and marketing teams in the UK to reach these mid-level clients. The Lloyds expansion began two years ago with the hiring of Mark Preston in September 2004 as managing director of financial markets.

Preston has a very clear idea of his goal. "The clear low-hanging fruit for Lloyds - we don't have a big international book - is the UK and particularly the UK mid-market," he says. "We have very good market share, we have a good branch network and we have great penetration to the UK mid-market."

Against the investment banking giants, Lloyds TSB would be outclassed, Preston admits: "We need to be clear in our own heads where we can be valuable and where we can't be competitive. So, if a large