Sainsbury’s set to wind down banking business
Sainsbury’s has announced it is planning a “phased withdrawal” of its main banking business following the completion of a strategic review of its financial services division.
Sainsbury’s to wind down banking business
The British supermarket first forayed into the banking space through a joint venture with Bank of Scotland back in 1997. Offering travel money, savings, loans and credit cards, Sainsbury’s eventually seized full control of the division in 2014.
The retailer says that Sainsbury’s Bank will now be gradually wound down with the provision of its financial services to be allocated to “dedicated financial services providers” through a similar distributed model to that of its insurance offering.
It adds the winding down of the bank is expected to happen “over time” with no immediate impact to the services it provides.
The announcement also confirmed the retirement of Jim Brown, Sainsbury’s Bank’s CEO of almost five years. The retailer attributes the strengthening and simplifying of the business to Brown, who also oversaw the sale of its mortgage book to the Co-operative Bank, completed last August for £479 million.
Former Allied Irish Bank (AIB) UK CEO Robert Mulhall has been instated in his place, effective “at the end of March” subject to regulatory approval. Mulhall has served as managing director of financial services for Dublin-based Vision Consulting since January 2023, and claims a “strong track record of delivering successful transformation” within retail banking.
Following the announcement, Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s, says the new structure will “help us become even more focused and further accelerate our transformation and performance”.
“It’s business as usual for now at Sainsbury’s Bank and there will be no immediate changes to products and services as a result of today’s announcement,” he continues. “We will of course communicate directly to customers well in advance of any changes to their products and services.”
