Bank of London (clearing bank)

Last updated

The Bank of London
Bank of London, The
IndustryFinancial Services
FounderAnthony Watson
Headquarters
100 Bishopsgate City of London London
Key people

The Bank of London is a British clearing, correspondent and wholesale bank operating in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe. [1] The bank launched on 30 November 2021 and in doing so became the UK's sixth clearing bank. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

The bank was founded by Anthony Watson. [2] [5] In 2021, Harvey Schwartz was appointed as Group Chairperson and Non-executive Director. [6]

The executive team spent four years prior to the bank's launch creating proprietary technology which allowed them to enter the market with a $1.1 billion valuation. It became the first pre-revenue bank to achieve 'unicorn' status. The bank had raised $120 million in funding within weeks of opening for business. Its funding within its first month put it within the UK's top 10 most valuable fintech firms. In December 2021, it was in talks with three additional investment firms to raise additional funding. [7]

The bank uses cloud-based core banking technology and a software as a service (SAAS) delivery model. [8] The bank's goals are to take on established banks in the market for clearing and settlement, deliver global banking transactions for the corporate market, and to provide SAAS to assist companies in embedding payments into their products. [9]

In June 2022 the bank announced it was to open an office in Belfast, [10] in order to capitalize on Belfast's high concentration of fintech employment. [11] The office opened on 17 August 2022, with the Economic Minister of Northern Ireland, Gordon Lyons, visiting on the opening day. [12]

In August 2022 the bank announced it would be creating a technology hub in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has signed an 11-year lease for 40,000 square feet (3,716 m2) in Uptown Charlotte in 101 Independence Center to house 350 staff. The bank chose Charlotte for its talent pool and ranking as the second-largest banking city in the US behind New York City. [13] [14] [15]

In February 2023, the bank secured an additional $40 million as an extension to its Series C funding. Investors of this round were Mangrove Capital Partners, 14W Venture Capital, and ForgeLight Investment Funds. [16]

On 5 September 2024, HMRC petitioned to wind up the bank's parent holding company The Bank of London Group Holdings Limited. [17] However, on 9 September 2024, the bank stated that it had since paid all its taxes and the HMRC petition was the result of an administrative error on the part of Bank of London. [18]

On 30 September 2024, in a boardroom clear-out, the Bank of London said Lord Mandelson, Wade Davis and Anthony Watson, the group's founder, had all stepped down as directors. The bank’s chairman, Carlyle Group chief executive Harvey Schwartz, will also leave. [19] Anthony Watson was replaced as chief executive by Stephen Bell, a former Ulster Bank executive, on 3 September 2024. [19] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Bank of Nigeria</span> Nigerian multinational bank

First Bank of Nigeria is a multinational bank and financial services company with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. First Bank was founded in 1894, by Sir Alfred Jones, but is currently owned by FBN Holdings PLC, which in itself has diversified ownership with over 1.3 million shareholders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zopa</span> British financial services company

Zopa Bank Ltd. is a British online bank which offers deposit accounts, personal loans and credit cards. It began as the world's first peer-to-peer lending company in 2005 and gained a full banking licence in 2020. The peer-to-peer side of its business closed in December 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stripe, Inc.</span> Irish-American multinational financial services and SaaS company

Stripe, Inc. is an Irish-American multinational financial services and software as a service (SaaS) company dual-headquartered in South San Francisco, California, United States, and Dublin, Ireland. The company primarily offers payment-processing software and application programming interfaces for e-commerce websites and mobile applications.

JPMorgan Chase is an American multinational banking corporation with a large presence in the United Kingdom. The corporation's European subsidiaries J.P. Morgan Europe Limited, J.P. Morgan International Bank Limited and J.P. Morgan Securities plc are headquartered in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wise (company)</span> Financial services company

Wise, previously known as TransferWise, is a financial technology company focused on global money transfers. Headquartered in London, it was founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in January 2011. As of 2023, it offers three main products: Wise Account, Wise Business, and Wise Platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Schwartz</span> American investment banker

Harvey M. Schwartz is an American businessman. He is CEO of The Carlyle Group, the world's sixth-largest private equity firm. He is also group chairperson and a non-executive director of The Bank of London, a clearing and transaction bank. He is on the board of SoFi, a San Francisco-based fintech company, and One Mind, a mental health and brain research nonprofit organization. He worked at Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2018, with his last post there being president and co-chief operating officer.

In financial services, open banking allows for financial data to be shared between banks and third-party service providers through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). Traditionally, banks have kept customer financial data within their own closed systems. Open banking allows customers to share their financial information securely and electronically with other banks or other authorized financial organizations such as payment providers, lenders and insurance companies.

Fintech, a clipped compound of "financial technology", refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, including mobile banking, online lending platforms, digital payment systems, robo-advisors, and blockchain-based applications such as cryptocurrencies. Fintech companies include both startups and established technology and financial firms that aim to improve, complement, or replace traditional financial services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Watson (businessman)</span> British business and technology executive

Anthony G. Watson is a British business and technology executive, and human and LGBT rights activist. In November 2021, Watson founded The Bank of London, a clearing, correspondent and wholesale bank, serving as chief executive officer. Since 2013 he has sat on the board of GLAAD. In April 2015, he joined the Bitcoin trading start-up Uphold.com as its president and chief executive officer.

Revolut Group Holdings Ltd, known simply as Revolut, is a global neobank and financial technology company headquartered in London that offers banking services for retail customers and businesses. It was co-founded in 2015 by British-Russian businessman Nikolay Storonsky and British-Ukrainian software engineer Vlad Yatsenko. It offers products including banking services, currency exchange, debit and credit cards, virtual cards, Apple Pay, interest-bearing "vaults", personal loans and BNPL, stock trading, crypto, commodities, human resources, and other services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monzo</span> British neobank

Monzo Bank Limited, trading as Monzo, is a British online bank based in London, England. Monzo was one of the earliest of a number of new app-based challenger banks in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atom Bank</span> Retail bank in the United Kingdom

Atom Bank plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It is the United Kingdom's first bank built for smartphone or tablet, without any branches, and the first digital-only challenger bank to be granted a full UK regulatory licence. The company is based in Durham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaid Inc.</span> Financial technology company

Plaid, Inc. is an American financial services company based in San Francisco, California. The company builds a data transfer network that powers fintech and digital finance products.

Nium is a Singapore-headquartered cross-border payments company. Initially founded by Prajit Nanu and Michael Bermingham, and launched as a consumer-remittance platform Instarem in 2014. In 2016, the company introduced its B2B payments platform and rebranded as Nium in 2019, subsequently elevating Pratik Gandhi to co-founder in 2021. However, Gandhi left Nium in October 2023, around the time Nium's Chief Product Officer also left the company and Nium announced a layoff of over 10% of its global staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeta (company)</span> Indian banking tech company, founded 2015

Zeta is a banking software company that was founded by Bhavin Turakhia and Ramki Gaddipati in 2015. The company provides credit and debit card issuer processing, BNPL, core banking and "mobile experiences". Zeta provides its products to banks and fintechs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chime (company)</span> American financial services company

Chime Financial, Inc. is a San Francisco–based financial technology company that provides fee-free mobile banking services through two national banks, Stride Bank and The Bancorp Bank.

Airwallex is a multinational financial technology company offering financial services and software as a service (SaaS). Founded in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia and currently based in Singapore, the company is a financial technology platform providing cross-border payments and financial services to businesses through a proprietary banking network and its API. It also provides services and products such as business accounts, expense cards, and payroll, among others. It was Australia's third technology unicorn company overall. With a valuation of US$5.5 billion, as of 2022, the company processed $50 billion in annualized transactions.

GoCardless is a fintech company that specialises in bank payments including recurring payments, Direct Debit processing and Open Banking. GoCardless is headquartered in London.

The development of neobanks in Europe is a trend in the European financial landscape beginning in the 2010s. Neobanks are a type of digital-only bank that offer financial services primarily through mobile and web applications, with little or no reliance on physical branches. The trend was driven by advancements in technology, changing consumer preferences, and supportive regulatory frameworks. Neobanks provide a range of services, including personal accounts, loans, and payment services, with a focus on user-friendly interfaces, low fees, and innovative features. In 2022, the European neobank market has generated over 570B transactions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varo Bank</span> American neobank

Varo Bank is an American neobank headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Launched in 2017, Varo was the first neobank to receive a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The company is led by founder and chief executive officer Colin Walsh.

References

  1. ↑ "Inside the world of clearing banks: Is the Bank of London worth the 250 year wait?". CityAM. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 Hosking, Patrick. "'Unicorn' Bank of London a game changer". ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Venkataramakrishnan, Siddharth (30 November 2021). "UK clearing bank set to launch with $1bn valuation". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Bank of London launches with big ambitions as the UK's sixth clearing bank - The TRADE". www.thetradenews.com. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Britain's first gay banking chief executive wants to shake up finance". Deccan Herald. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Clarke, Paul. "Former Goldman Sachs exec Schwartz to chair new clearing bank". www.fnlondon.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Bray, Wesley (1 December 2021). "Bank of London launches with big ambitions as the UK's sixth clearing bank". The Trade. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "What Will London's Place Be in the Future of Global Clearing?". 13 July 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Bray, Wesley (1 December 2021). "Bank of London launches with big ambitions as the UK's sixth clearing bank". The Trade. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Khairnar, Shruti (21 June 2022). "The Bank of London invests in Belfast and creates over 200 new jobs". Fintech Futures. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Isaacs, Amelia (20 June 2022). "Bank of London invests millions in new Belfast centre". Altfi. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  12. ↑ McAleer, Ryan (17 August 2022). "Bank of London opens new Belfast fintech base at Soloist Building". The Irish News. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Lang, Hannah (8 August 2022). "A new British bank is bringing 350 jobs to Charlotte. It's already actively hiring". Charlotte Observer . Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  14. ↑ France, Elise (8 August 2022). "Bank of London to establish tech hub in uptown Charlotte, pledging 350 jobs". Charlotte Business Journal . Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "THE BANK OF LONDON ANNOUNCES A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT IN CHARLOTTE AND THE CREATION OF 350 NEW JOBS". Cision PR Newswire. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "The Bank of London raises $40m, bringing total valuation to $1.1b" . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "The Bank Of London Group Holdings Limited - Caseboard". Caseboard Limited. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  18. ↑ "Bank of London resolves tax payment glitch, raises funds". Reuters. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  19. 1 2 Field, Matthew (30 October 2024). "Lord Mandelson leads exodus at bank founded by Labour party donor". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  20. ↑ "Anthony Watson CBE transitions to non-executive director of the firm's holding company". The Bank of London. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.