CivilisedBank to reapply for banking licence
UK challenger CivilisedBank says it will release its banking licence to give more time to develop its technology platform, before subsequently reapplying for a new licence.
It’s keen to stress that everyone is cool with this. It says the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are aware and the decision is “fully supported” by CivilisedBank’s main shareholder, Warwick Capital Partners.
Chris Jolly, non-executive chairman, CivilisedBank says it made this choice “rather than try to rush through our current IT development phase”.
For its technology, the bank originally opted for a packaged solution from local consultancy firm, Tusmor. It consists of Profile Software’s FMS.next for core banking operations, Dovetail (now Fiserv) for payments, Sphonic for risk management and AML, and Aqilla for accounting.
The bank was granted a banking licence in May 2017 and initially said it was building its infrastructure and planning a launch to customers in early 2018.
It is focused on the UK SME market and funded by retail savings. It will offer savings and loans, transaction banking, overdrafts, current accounts with deposits and foreign exchange.
CivilisedBank will not have any branches, but offers a “Local Banker” network to help build one-to-one relationships with SMEs, “without the high client volume per banker or the traditional costs associated with the existing high street banks”.
Within five years (or maybe later now) it aims to have a Local Banker, as opposed to a branch, “in every major town and city in the UK”.
CivilisedBank is led by a team that has worked in a variety of banks, including Santander, Handelsbanken, RBS, HSBC, Societe Generale, Barclays, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland.
Here’s a comprehensive list of the known UK challengers to date and the technology they are using.
