Member Article

UK Challenger Announces a Duo of Senior Appointments

Project BankNorth has announced two new senior appointments as the company moves forward with its regulatory journey, following submission of its second regulatory business plan.

The start-up has welcomed Keith Ollier as Head of Risk and CRO designate, and Mike Smedley as Head of Architecture. The appointments come during an intense period of growth which has seen the team expand to 18 with key hires across IT, Programme, Risk, Finance and HR.

The company has also partnered with a world leader in cloud banking, nCino Inc. The partnership will provide a leading-edge digital loan platform to drive exceptional customer experience in SME lending.

Mike joins to be the architect of BankNorth’s first-class digital platform, bringing 15 years of experience of working in a wide range of financial services sectors. He has held senior positions at First Direct, HSBC and Yorkshire Building Society, helping those companies devise the technology strategies and roadmaps.

On his appointment, Mike commented: “I’m excited to be joining the company at such a pivotal stage in its development. Customer service is at the very heart of our new offering and I look forward to working with the team to deliver an agile, digital and personalised customer experience.”

Joining Project BankNorth as Head of Risk and CRO designate, Keith brings 40 years’ experience as a banker working at HSBC and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank where he undertook a range of roles including Branch Banking, Regional Sales Management, Operations Management as well as front line roles in both Commercial and Corporate banking before moving into Credit training and underwriting roles, latterly heading up the CYBG Business Credit function in the UK.

Jonathan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, added: “These new strategic appointments to the team bring a wealth of knowledge and will have a positive impact on the future of Project BankNorth.

“The team have achieved a huge amount in the first quarter of 2019, with progress on many fronts, including both technology development and on our regulatory journey, ensuring we remain firmly on track to disrupt the SME lending market.

Management are exercising tight budgetary control and this is ensuring that the cost of developing the business is lower than the initial forecast. We continue to refine the details of the financial plan, particularly in respect of the cost of developing the IT system. Our current expectation is that the total cost that will be incurred prior to trading launch will be 20% lower than the original budget.

All of the financial projections included within the key regulatory submissions of RBP, ICAAP and ILAAP are in-line with or more favourable than the financial projections within the initial investment memorandum.“

Project BankNorth, predicted to launch in 2020, expects its innovative model will transform the way SME lending is delivered, by focusing the whole business around the frictionless delivery of tailored debt solutions for UK businesses.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Crampton .