Afin Bank appoints head of finance ahead of launch

Peter Hale has been appointed as head of finance for Afin Bank, the specialist lender created to help Africans and other diaspora communities living and working in the UK to get mortgages.

Afin Bank is backed by African reinsurer WAICA Re which has committed £62m to setting up the venture. The bank received its banking licence Authorisation with Restrictions (AwR) in October last year and expects to fully launch its lending proposition, along with FSCS protected savings accounts, later this year.

While designed for Africans and other foreign nationals living in the UK, who can find it difficult to get a mortgage because of their visa status or lack of credit history, Afin Bank says its lending products may also be suitable for UK resident customers including high-net worth borrowers and self-employed workers.

The bank plans to offer a range of residential and buy-to-let mortgages for borrowers in the UK as well as buy-to-let borrowers in certain African countries, in addition to a range of savings accounts for all UK-based savers.

Hale was previously head of finance at FCMB Bank UK, part of a Nigerian based banking group, a part of which provides banking to high-net-worth individuals and businesses in the UK, primarily to customers originally from Africa.

Hale said: “The proposition of providing effortless banking to under-served customers, be that from the African diaspora and other underserved foreign nationals, young professionals or the self-employed, was really easy to get on board with and one that I am excited to help deliver. But I was also attracted to the passion of the people at Afin Bank and their commitment to building a new bank with a strong purpose.

“Joining a new bank ahead of full launch means I get to leverage my experience to help build and shape the end-to-end banking process, from commercial aspects through to the operational processes. That’s the kind of challenge that I enjoy.”

Charles Resnick, Afin Bank’s chief financial officer, commented: “Peter is a key addition to the team and brings lots of expertise in banking and finance, which is invaluable ahead of our planned launch later this year. Peter’s previous experience of working with the African community will be important in helping to make Afin the bank for underserved diaspora communities in the UK.”