Financial Advisors Launch Private UK Bank For SMEs

The financial advisors at deVere Group are launching their own private bank in the U.K. aimed at SMEs and international clientele.

The company said Monday (Jan. 23) that it is launching its own private bank, deVere Group Bank St Lucia, and is reportedly the first private bank to be owned by an independent financial advisory company.

In a statement, deVere Group Founder and CEO Nigel Green said the bank will help the firm expand its offerings.

“We are now able to directly provide international banking services and corporate banking solutions to small businesses,” the executive said, adding that the decision to launch its own bank was a response to growing demand from their clients.

“The convenience offered by our private bank will be a key advantage for our clients who are, typically, expats and international investors,” he continued. “With accounts offering centralized, secure, flexible and international access to funds, they are, naturally, a good option for those who live more internationally mobile and transient lives.”

A slew of new banks have popped up in the U.K. as the industry seeks more competition against its main players — Lloyds, RBS, Barclays, Santander UK and HSBC. Many of these market entrants are targeting the SME banking sphere; last year, Copernicus Bank became one of the most recent to enter the market and service small and medium-sized businesses.

But the launch of a new private bank is adding competition of a different sort. Green noted that the bank is also in response to market insecurities.

“DeVere Group Bank St Lucia enables us to move beyond traditional banking activities and meet the requirements of clients in an ever more globalized, yet insecure, world,” he said.