LONDON: The first new private bank in the UK for over thirty years has officially launched, after gaining approval from regulators.
Hampden & Co was formally approved to operate as a private bank by UK regulators the PRA and FCA, as well as the Bank of England, this week.
The bank was founded by Ray Entwistle, who left his role as chairman of Adam & Co in 2010 to begin a four-year process of fundraising and gaining regulatory approval.
The new bank will be run by Graeme Hartop, formerly CEO of Scottish Widows Bank.
He joined Scottish Widows Bank in the mid-1990s while the business was still a start-up, and remained there as a managing director following its subsequent sale to Lloyds.
The new private bank was initially launched under the Scoban name last year, but was renamed once Hampden Group became a major investor.
The group said it had provided “substantial backing” for the bank, along with many of its clients, ensuring its launch with total initial capital of nearly £50m.
It added: “The bank will have a traditional, conservative and high quality, personal banking service at the heart of its ethos and business model.
“Its management team have a recognised and proven track record in successful UK private banking and they are looking to apply this experience to Hampden & Co.”
The bank already operates out of an office in Edinburgh and there are plans to open a second office in London.
Challenger banks have been popular with UK equity fund managers in recent months as they look to smaller financial institutions in search of a ‘purer’ play on the financial sector.
