Charity Bank has appointed Patrick Crawford, head of the government's export credit agency, as its new chief executive.

Crawford will join Charity Bank as only its second-ever chief executive, on 19 November. He replaces Malcolm Hayday, who is stepping down as chief executive after ten years, having founded the bank in 2002.

Crawford (pictured) is currently chief executive of UK Export Finance, the government department that acts as the UK’s export credit agency.

Malcolm Elliot will join the bank as its new deputy chief executive. Elliot was one of the Financial Services Authority managers who worked with Charity Bank when it received authorisation in 2002 and spent six years as a co-opted member of the bank’s audit and compliance committee.

Commenting on his appointment as chief executive, Crawford said: “I was attracted to Charity Bank because it is a clear success story that can only get better, and because the whole objective of the bank is to make a beneficial impact: the real changes its borrowers make to the lives of individuals and communities.

"The timing of Charity Bank’s intended growth is perfect. Confidence in traditional banks is at an all-time low, while the need for charities, social enterprises and other community projects to borrow has never been greater. While the majority of Charity Bank’s borrowers use its loans to help them to expand or improve their services, an increasing number will use its loans to safeguard their organisations against the risk of disappearing.

“Under Malcolm Hayday’s leadership, Charity Bank has developed from a concept to a leader in the world of social finance.  I hope that I will be a worthy successor at this key stage in its growth.”