UK specialist mortgage lender Vida Homeloans secures full banking licence, rebrands as Vida Bank
Vida Homeloans, a London-based specialist mortgage lender, has received full banking authorisation from the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and will now operate under the new name Vida Bank.
Vida Bank will operate as a specialist mortgage bank
Founded in 2015 as Belmont Green Finance, the company has provided over £3.7 billion in loans to more than 17,000 mortgage customers through its Vida Homeloans brand.
With its new banking licence, the company has rebranded as Vida Bank and will operate as a specialist mortgage bank offering residential and buy-to-let mortgages.
“Obtaining a banking licence will allow Vida to accelerate its growth ambitions and become more competitive in the specialist mortgage market,” the company says in a statement, adding that its “new ability to offer a range of retail deposits will strengthen its funding base and allow it to compete at far greater scale”.
Alongside its mortgage offerings, the new bank also says it plans to launch a range of savings products “before the end of the year”.
Vida Bank is led by CEO Anth Mooney, who has helmed Belmont Green Finance for four years. Announcing the bank’s launch on LinkedIn, Mooney states that “within hours of going live”, the bank had already reached £1 million in retail deposits.
