Despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, OakNorth Bank lent £1.1B to the Missing Middle in 2020 and saw pre-tax profits increase to £78M

  • Since its launch in September 2015, OakNorth Bank has lent over £5.1B to the Missing Middle[1], directly helping with the creation of over 22,500 new jobs and more than 17,600 new homes (the significant majority of which are affordable and social housing)[2];
  • In 2020, the Bank lent £1.1B to the Missing Middle, supporting hundreds of businesses and helping to create and protect thousands of jobs;
  • In addition to this, it supported clients with the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS);
  • OakNorth Bank is one of the fastest-growing businesses in Europe[3], achieving performance metrics that rank it amongst the top 1% of commercial banks globally[4].

London, UK, 22 March 2021; OakNorth Bank has today published its 2020 Annual Report, revealing that despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, it lent £1.1B to the Missing Middle in 2020 and made £78M in pre-tax profit[5].

Since 2015, OakNorth Bank has lent over £5.1B to the Missing Middle with £1.6B of facilities repaid[6], and now has hundreds of borrowers in the UK across a variety of sectors. By working closely with its borrowers and sharing best practices from their industry peers, OakNorth Bank helped them take timely and appropriate action to address the impact of COVID-19, achieving an average borrower Net Promoter Score of 80 throughout 2020[7]. In addition to this, the Bank has only had a cumulative ten defaults since inception, six of which have been resolved with 100% recovery and it has therefore, had no loan write-offs to date. On the remaining loans in default, it had provisioned for £5M as at 31 December 2020.

OakNorth Bank has been able to achieve the above results thanks to the insights and efficiencies provided by its cloud software that transforms commercial lending, the ON Credit Intelligence Suite.

OakNorth Bank’s lending is supported by its award-winning savings franchise, offering a range of Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)-protected products to savers at all stages of life and businesses at all stages of growth. Its convenient, competitive and frictionless deposit offering, coupled with its exceptional customer service[8], has enabled it to attract over 170,000[9] savings customers and achieve a depositor Net Promoter Score of 77[10].

Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth Bank, commented: Given the challenges of the pandemic on society and the economy over the last year, OakNorth’s mission – to empower the Missing Middle – has never been more important. As demonstrated by the tens of thousands of new jobs and homes that have been created off the back of the c.£5B we’ve lent to date, these businesses are the most significant contributors to economic and employment growth. They will play a vital role in the post-pandemic economic recovery, so we’re proud to have continued supporting them through not one but two unprecedented events – the Brexit vote and the withdrawal process that followed, and COVID-19. In doing so, we’ve been able to build a robust and profitable business supported by 170,000 loyal savers.”

ENDS


[1] The Missing Middle is the unique market segment that we support – these businesses are the most significant contributors to economic and employment growth. They have developed productive and profitable business models, so by giving them access to finance, we are enabling them to scale and in doing so, improve productivity, employment and GDP growth across the country.

[2] Figures based on facilities OakNorth Bank has disbursed since launch in September 2015.

[3] Source: FT 1000 – Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2021.

[4] Based on Cost-to-income ratio and ROE measure of global listed banks. Latest available information as available from various external sources.  

[5] Including COVID overlay provisions. 

[6] This includes loan repayments of £1.3B and £0.3B of facilities closed.  

[7] Compared to the average NPS across the Financial Services sector of 36 (source: Satmetrix).

[8] Based on a Feefo rating of 4.6-stars and an average phone answering time of 15 seconds.

[9] Figure includes customers who have come to us direct and via partnerships.

[10] Compared to the average NPS across the Financial Services sector of 36 (source: Satmetrix).

Notes to editors

About OakNorth Bank plc

Launched in September 2015 and founded by entrepreneurs, OakNorth Bank provides fast, flexible and accessible debt finance to the UK’s Missing Middle.

It has borrowers across a variety of sectors, including: healthcare (nursing homes and retirement villages), consumer goods, vehicle and parts manufacturing, capital goods manufacturing, household professional services (including educational services), nurseries, business support services, hospitality and recreation (including hotels, resorts, restaurants and bars, fast food outlets and limited service restaurants), SME residential and commercial property development and investment.

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.

Full 2020 Annual Report can be viewed here.

Contact 

Valentina Kristensen, Director – Growth & Communications – [email protected] / [email protected] / +44 757 234 9009 

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