Shortly after announcing its summer launch, OakNorth has obtained its banking licence and appointed a number of business leaders to its Non-Executive Board. The Board’s backgrounds include the likes of Legal & General, Ernst & Young and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Appointments
Independent Chairman- Ratan Engineer
Background: Head of Global Asset Management at Ernst & Young and CFO at Invesco
Senior Independent Director - Lord Turner of Ecchinswell
Background: Former Chairman of the FSA and the Confederation of British Industry
Non-Executive Director - Robert Burgess
Background: Former CEO of Alliance Trust Savings and Exchange Associates.
OakNorth’s new Senior Independent Director said: “Fast-growing small and medium sized businesses play a pivotal role in the economy, but they find it more difficult to access finance in Britain than they would in many other countries, such as the US or Germany.
“OakNorth understands that it doesn’t have to be this way, and we see an opportunity to focus on this market of growth SMEs, be more flexible in the range of collateral we accept from them and invest in IT that improves customer service.”
Commenting on the new board, Rishi Khosla, Chief Executive Officer of OakNorth, said: “These appointments give us an exceptionally strong and well-balanced leadership team that will foster the growth and resilience of the business.
The duo behind the challenger bank’s inception previously founded investment research and analytics company Copal Amba which was acquired by Moody’s Corporation.
OakNorth will accept multiple collateral types, including property. The provider will offer short-term working capital loans and term loans to small and medium sized businesses and savings accounts to retail customers.
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