Masthaven Bank has joined the ranks of new financial institutions stepping up to take on the UK's biggest banks after receiving a retail banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority.
The digital-only startup, a spin-off from bridging loan specialist Masthaven Finance, is to launch officially in the summer offering a range of competitive online fixed-interest savings products, enabling customers to tailor maturity dates and interest rates in a way which suits them. It will also build on the experience of parent company Masthaven Finance to provide specialist mortgages for UK borrowers who might struggle to get loans from the big, established lenders.
The new bank is majority-owned by founder Andrew Bloom, with the remaining ownership in the hands of the billionaire Pears family and Masthaven’s employees. It will be led managing director Jon Hall, a former CEO of Saffron Building Society, who joined the business in December 2014.
Says Hall: “In a world of ever increasing personalisation, many people want to take more control of their money and make it work harder for them. We’re determined to buck the ‘one size fits all’ approach to banking by helping retail customers play a bigger role in tailoring products to best suit their needs.”