The Bank of London is a British clearing,

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

and

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

bank operating in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe. The bank launched on 30 November 2021 and in doing so became the UK's sixth clearing bank.

History

The bank was founded by Anthony Watson. In 2021, Harvey Schwartz was appointed as Group Chairperson and Non-executive Director. The executive team spent four years prior to the bank's launch creating proprietary technology which allowed them to enter the market with a $1.1 billion valuation. It became the first pre-revenue bank to achieve 'unicorn' status. The bank had raised $120 million in funding within weeks of opening for business. Its funding within its first month put it within the UK's top 10 most valuable

fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

firms. In December 2021, it was in talks with three additional investment firms to raise additional funding. The bank uses cloud-based core banking technology and a

software as a service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike o ...

(SAAS) delivery model. The bank's goals are to take on established banks in the market for clearing and settlement, deliver global banking transactions for the corporate market, and to provide SAAS to assist companies in embedding payments into their products. In June 2022 the bank announced it was to open an office in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, in order to capitalize on Belfast's high concentration of fintech employment. The office opened on 17 August 2022, with the Economic Minister of Northern Ireland, Gordon Lyons, visiting on the opening day. In August 2022 the bank announced it would be creating a technology hub in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. It has signed an 11-year lease for in

Uptown Charlotte Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Int ...

in 101 Independence Center to house 350 staff. The bank chose Charlotte for its talent pool and ranking as the second-largest banking city in the US behind New York City. In February 2023, the bank secured an additional $40 million as an extension to its Series C funding. Investors of this round were Mangrove Capital Partners, 14W Venture Capital, and ForgeLight Investment Funds. Beginning in May of 2024, the bank laid off the remainder of its US workforce. This left no one in the New York or

offices. On 5 September 2024, HMRC petitioned to wind up the bank's parent holding company The Bank of London Group Holdings Limited. However, on 9 September 2024, the bank stated that it had since paid all its taxes and the HMRC petition was the result of an administrative error on the part of Bank of London. On 30 September 2024, in a boardroom clear-out, the Bank of London said

Lord Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, (born 21 October 1953) is a British politician, lobbyist and diplomat who has served as British Ambassador to the United States since February 2025. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party ...

, Wade Davis and Anthony Watson, the group's founder, had all stepped down as directors. The bank’s chairman,

Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...

chief executive Harvey Schwartz, will also leave. Anthony Watson was replaced as chief executive by Stephen Bell, a former

Ulster Bank Ulster Bank is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...

executive, on 3 September 2024.{{cite web , title=Anthony Watson CBE transitions to non-executive director of the firm's holding company , url=https://thebankoflondon.com/blog/anthony-watson-cbe-transitions-to-nonexecutive-director-of-the-firms-holding-company-/4unFJtt92hLAXrYSoK8B58 , website=The Bank of London , date=3 September 2024 , access-date=7 September 2024

External links

Official Website

References

Banks based in the City of London Online banks

History

See also

External links

References