- Rajesh will be joining OakNorth Bank from Kensington Mortgages, a leading specialist lender, where he spent the last five and a half years as its CFO;
- Prior to this, he had a 21-year career with General Electric, where he had responsibilities for entities with assets ranging from $5bn to $50bn;
- As one of the only profitable new banks in the UK, OakNorth has set itself apart from other neo-banks, lending over £4.5bn to hundreds of businesses across the UK since its launch five years ago;
- Despite the ongoing challenges being presented by the pandemic, OakNorth Bank has continued supporting UK businesses, approving an average of £150m in new loans every month since March, as well as participating in the Government’s CBILS and CLBILS.
OakNorth Bank – the UK bank powered by OakNorth – today announces the appointment of Rajesh Gupta as CFO, who will be joining the bank pending regulatory approval.
Rajesh joins from Kensington Mortgages, a leading specialist non-bank mortgage lender in the UK where he spent five and a half years as CFO, overseeing the finance function during a period of significant transformation and growth. Prior to Kensington, he had a 21-year career with General Electric where he held various positions including: CFO of GE Capital Bank UK (c.$5bn of assets), CFO for GE Money Bank in the Czech Republic (c.$7bn of assets) and Head of Financial Planning and Analysis for the EMEA Region (c. $50bn of assets).
Rajesh takes over from Cristina Alba Ochoa who joined the Bank as its CFO in April 2017 and after a successful journey with OakNorth, is moving to Barcelona to be closer to family. Cristina will remain CFO until Rajesh joins and will continue at OakNorth indefinitely, albeit in a different role.
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth Bank has grown into an international success story, achieving performance metrics that place it amongst the top 1% of banks in the developed world – an ROE run-rate of 23%, an efficiency ratio run-rate of 26%, an NPS of 80.5, and pre-tax profits that increased 95% in 2019 to £65.9m. As CFO, Rajesh will help ensure the Bank can maintain this impressive track record through the COVID-19 recovery and beyond.
Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth Bank, said: “Rajesh has a wealth of CFO experience, leading institutions with assets up to 10 times that of OakNorth Bank. In the five years since we launched, OakNorth Bank has lent over £4.5bn to hundreds of businesses across the UK, directly contributing to the creation of tens of thousands of new homes and jobs across the country. However, we aim to have a much larger impact in the years to come, so it is essential that we continue strengthening our leadership team. We’re excited to have Rajesh on board and look forward to welcoming him in the coming months.”
Rajesh Gupta continued: “I’ve been following OakNorth’s Bank’s incredible growth story for the last few years, so am excited to now be a part of it and be joining at such a seminal moment for both the company and the country. In a relatively short time, OakNorth Bank has grown into what is arguably the most successful new bank in the UK and the fastest-growing businesses in Europe[1]. I have been very impressed by the passion and energy of the people I have met at OakNorth – this is a great strength. Rishi and Joel established the bank to provide financing to the underserved sectors of the SME space and in the wake of the COVID pandemic, this proposition is now all the more critical.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
CBILS is demand-led scheme offering lending to smaller businesses with turnover of up to £45. Invoice finance and asset finance facilities are available from £1k to £5m, while term loans and revolving credit facilities are available from £50k to £5m. The government makes a payment to cover interest and lender-levied fees under CBILS for the first 12 months. The scheme is due to close for new applications on 31 January 2021.
About CLBILS
The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of, and with the financial backing of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy (BEIS).
About OakNorth Bank plc
OakNorth Bank provides fast, flexible and accessible debt finance (from £500k to £50m) to fast-growth businesses and established property developers / investors. It has debt finance teams in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and East Anglia.
Since its launch, the bank has:
- Lent over £4.5bn, directly helping with the creation of 15,000 new homes and 19,000 new jobs across the UK;
- Raised deposits from c.144,000 savers;
- Supported several hundred businesses across the UK with the debt finance to pursue their growth ambitions.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit wordpress-test-website.oaknorth-it.com for more information.
Contact
Valentina Kristensen, Director – Growth & Communications – [email protected] / [email protected] / +44 757 234 9009
[1] According to the Financial Times FT 1000 where OakNorth Bank was number 1