Recognise Bank rakes in £95m in deposits in its first six months

Newcomer Recognise Bank has raked in £95million in deposits since receiving its full banking license six months ago.

The SME-focused lender also handed out some £100million to small and medium UK businesses in the period.

The new challenger bank, which is part of the City of London Group, was given the green-light to accept deposits and lend to customers in September 2021.

Raking in deposits: Savers have given Recognise Bank some £95m of their savings

Recognise launched its first range of accounts just two days after receiving its full banking licence.

Its five-year fixed rate account shot straight into the best buy table with a savings rate of 2 per cent.

Recognise accounts can be opened with £1,000 but only online, cash is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to the tune of £85,000 and deposits are used to lend to small- and medium-sized businesses.

Recognise Bank chief executive, Bryce Glover, hailed the ‘huge lending milestone’.

‘Through our lending we have supported a wide range of growing firms – whether it’s to acquire their own business premises or to help fund a green housing development – who otherwise would have struggled to find a bank that understood their needs and was willing to lend to them,’ he said.

He added that customers were happy with their services, with customer satisfaction levels hitting an average score of 81, which is ‘well above the usual levels for the financial services sector’.

‘Our next chapter is to continue helping UK SMEs, who are the lifeblood of the UK economy, but with an even greater focus on technology,’ Glover continued.

The group is looking to ‘speeding up, streamlining and digitalising operational and customer touchpoints, as well as developing new products and services to help businesses with the financial challenges they face’.

In December, City of London Group reported a pre-tax loss of £5.8million for the six months ending 30 September, up from a loss of £2.6million the previous half.

The group said £5.6million of the latest half-year loss stemmed ‘from Recognise Bank, in line with its business plan, as it develops its business’.

City of London Group shares rose 3.5 per cent to 60p on Thursday.