CIT Trade Finance announced the appointment of Richard Lyons as a senior vice president and new business development officer. He is based in the New York office and reports to Todd Harrington, Northeast regional sales manager.

“Rich will be a tremendous asset to our team, as he brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and relationship skills to our core middle market client base,” said Marc Heller, Northeast and international manager, CIT Trade Finance. “His strong sales skills, credit expertise and deal structuring skills add great value to our organization.”

Prior to CIT, Lyons served as a senior vice president at HSBC Bank. He started his career in middle market lending with Marine Midland Bank in 1977 and previously worked as a new business officer with CIT from 1991-2008.

He graduated from St. John’s University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. While at St. John’s, Lyons was a three-year starter on the school’s basketball team, playing for coach legend Lou Carnesecca.