Paul Edwards is Managing Director of Lombard and Specialist Businesses, a core part of NatWest’s Commercial Mid-Market (CMM) franchise, providing relationship-led banking and specialist finance solutions to UK SMEs and mid-corporates. In his role, Paul has accountability for Lombard—the UK’s largest asset finance business—alongside the bank’s invoice finance and trade propositions.

Paul brings over 25 years of senior leadership experience across NatWest and Barclays, with a strong track record in delivering business performance and leading complex transformation. His career spans senior roles across coverage, operations, risk, portfolio management and strategy. In addition to UK leadership positions, Paul has held international roles across EMEA and India at Barclays, including Head of Corporate Credit for Emerging Markets and Head of Business Banking, Western Europe, giving him deep experience across markets, products and operating models.

Prior to his current role, Paul was Regional Managing Director for Commercial Mid-Market in the South-West & Wales, where he led a team of around 250 colleagues supporting approximately 11,000 customers. During this time, he oversaw several business-critical change programmes, including the delivery of Covid-related government-backed lending schemes and major financial crime remediation initiatives, alongside chairing the NatWest Regional Board for the South-West, with a strong focus on community impact.

Paul is passionate about leadership, coaching and supporting the development of others, supporting UK businesses, and harnessing innovation.