The Specialist

UTB NEWS

News and Updates from across the world of UTB.

TWO NEW NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS JOIN UTB’S BOARD

UTB is delighted to appoint two new non-executive directors to its board
Maria Harris is the former Director of Intermediary Lending at Atom Bank and is now a consultant specialising in fintech and digital transformation in the financial services sector. Maria is a well-known and highly respected figure in the mortgage industry and was responsible for creating and launching Atom Bank’s disruptive and award-winning retail mortgages proposition and instrumental in growing the loan book. She is a Chartered Fellow with the Chartered Management Institute and holds supporting roles with a number of charitable enterprises in the North East. Maria joins the board of UTB as non-executive director Alice Altmaire leaves to take up her new role as CEO of RCI Financial Services and RCI Bank in the UK.

Upon joining UTB’s board, Maria said:
“I’m honoured to be joining the board of such an entrepreneurial and highly respected bank. UTB have a strong history of providing customer focused solutions and innovating products to meet borrowers’ needs. Having recently launched facial recognition software and expressed a commitment to deploy technology for better customer experiences, I’m excited to bring my own digital expertise to the board.”
Sarah Laessig, is a highly experienced financial services senior executive and non- executive director and she holds a number of board positions, reflecting her experience in financial services, fintech and the public sector. Sarah had a 17-year executive career at Citigroup, managing businesses across developed and developing markets and is a NED on the boards of Local Pensions Partnership and Valoot Technologies. Sarah is also a Commissioner on the Civil Service Commission, an independent regulator that oversees appointments to the Civil Service.

Sarah Laessig commented:

“I’m delighted to be joining the board at UTB. I’ve been impressed by its talented team and I look forward to contributing my experience to the board as the business continues to build its customer focused specialist finance business.”

 

UTB’s £20m debt issue a success
UTB successfully issued £20m of Tier 2 debt to an institutional investment fund which specialises in the financial services sector. The 10½ year notes were issued on 30 September 2019 at a rate of 7.5% and the funding will be used to support future growth in the Bank and refinance £11.6m of existing Tier 2 debt.

Jonathan Ayres, Chief Financial Officer of United Trust Bank, commented:

“This is a large Tier 2 capital raise for the Bank, and it has been successfully accomplished in uncertain and challenging times. The interest shown in the offer, and the placing of the debt with an institutional investor, reflects the strength of UTB, the confidence in our position in the specialist lending market and the prospect of considerable future growth.”