Willis has appointed a senior banking executive to lead a political and trade credit risks practice in Melbourne as the global broker looks to fill a gap in the Australian market.

Bill Froggatt, who will be Executive Director, Financial Solutions for Willis Australia, was most recently Westpac’s head of northern hemisphere trade. He will report into the financial solutions Asia-Pacific operation in Singapore.

“We have long held the view that the Australian financial market has not been as well served in the political and credit risk insurance arena as it could be, a situation we are now able to remedy,” Willis Financial Solutions global CEO Paul Davidson said.

Over the past five years the Australian loan market has accounted for one-third of Asia-Pacific volumes, excluding Japan, ranking it higher by loan volume than Hong Kong, India, China and Singapore.