We have money to lend and we want to lend it," says Sharon Geoghegan.

The trouble is that too few businesses want to borrow.

Lloyds Banking Group's area director for corporate markets in the South East admits loan demand has been weaker than normal, partly because firms have used the downturn to de-leverage or reduce loans, accelerate repayments, squeeze creditors and cut stock levels.

"There just isn't the pent-up demand which everyone thinks there is."

Political uncertainty in the run-up to the general election also stifled demand.

Ms Geoghegan has spent all her career with Lloyds, which she joined as a management trainee 24 years ago.

But she has seen more change in her bank's landscape in the past two years than all the rest, after the controversial merger with HBOS.

From being one of the world's most revered, profitable and prudent banks, it now finds itself 41 per cent owned by the taxpayer, with shares languishing around 58p in mid-May.

But for all the seismic change in the group's fortunes, Ms Geoghegan insists that credit policy has not changed "throughout my 24 years in the bank."

As long as a business is credit-worthy and meets certain financial rules, "money is definitely there." The usual questions apply of course: Does it fit, is it the type of business we should be lending to?

"If I'm going out to view a business, I will always looks at its balance sheet, its projections and its management team. That hasn't changed from when I started 24 years ago and I hope it won't change for years to come."

But that does not mean loans are any easier to obtain. "Yes, we're in the risk business, but we must pay due care and attention to the type of risk we lend to."

Mr Geoghegan's team at Gatwick has been increased to 21, partly by absorbing Bank of Scotland staff. She says the rise reflects the bank's commitment to business in Kent and the South East.

"Kent is very important to the success of my office," she says. "It's a growth area."

Her team focuses on businesses with turnover from £15m to £500m. She has identified 200 in this category that do not bank with Lloyds and she is after them.

"We really want to do relationships," she says. "We're not there for the transaction only and then back out."