20 Sep 2021 07:00
20 September 2021
CITY OF LONDON GROUP PLC
("COLG" or the "Company")
Banking Licence Update
City of London Group (AIM: CIN), the parent company of Recognise Bank Ltd ("Recognise Bank"), a digitally led new SME bank, is pleased to announce that, the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") has lifted the deposit restrictions on Recognise Bank. This will enable Recognise Bank launch its personal and business savings products and to start taking deposits. Recognise Bank will launch FSCS protected personal savings products on Tuesday 21st September 2021, with business saving products due to launch later.
As announced in August 2021, City of London Group agreed the sale of Milton Homes Limited ("Milton") and completed a capital raise to meet the capital requirements for the PRA to remove restrictions on deposits.
The development of Recognise Bank has been a central part of COLG's strategy, to address the funding and service gap experienced by underserved UK SMEs. The new capital and funds from the deposit taking products will enable Recognise Bank increase lending to the UK's small and medium sized businesses.
Philip Jenks, Chairman of COLG and Recognise Bank, commented:
"We are delighted that the PRA has lifted the deposit restrictions for Recognise, a major milestone for COLG and Recognise. We have completed the final step on the journey to becoming a fully authorised digitally led bank which has been our primary objective for three years. We have grown the Recognise employee base to over 60 high calibre members and secured a strong executive team, led by Jason Oakley as CEO.
"The recent capital raise and sale of Milton Homes will enable us to realise our strategic ambitions for Recognise Bank, namely increasing the size of the loan book with access to funding from depositors through our business and personal savings products."
Enquiries
City of London Group plc Michael Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer Ben Peters, Director of Investor Relations | +44 (0)20 3988 6501 +44 (0)20 3988 6500 |
Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) James Britton, Rishi Shah | +44 (0)20 7418 8900 |
For media enquiries, please contact: Heather Armstrong Tim Pearson
| heather.armstrong@tavistock.co.uk 07929-116860 Or email colg@tavistock.co.uk |
About City of London Group
City of London Group (AIM: CIN), is a forward-thinking organisation focused on serving the UK SME market, predominantly focused on lending to the SME market through its subsidiary, Recognise Bank.
In 2020, the Company raised £27 million to launch Recognise Bank which received AwR in November. The Board and leadership team have extensive experience in the financial services arena and expect to receive full authorisation for Recognise later in 2021.
For more information please visit: https://www.cityoflondongroup.com/
About Recognise Bank Limited
Recognise Bank was formed to provide financial services to the UK Small and Medium Enterprises sector and the retail and business savings markets. It will target an underserved but growing SME segment offering a relationship-led, digitally enabled proposition.
The bank's efficient technology-driven operating base, partners with leading fintech platforms to create a market leading SME service using the best-in-class technology. Recognise has a strong independent Board and an executive team with over 200 years' experience of banking. It aims to grow its base over the next five years to more than 5,000 SME borrowers and over 50,000 savings customers. Recognise is a subsidiary of the City of London Group which is an AIM Listed Company (AIM: CIN) involved in the provision of financial services.
Click here for further information on Recognise. Follow us on our LinkedIn by clicking here.