Chetwood Bank surpasses £5bn after strong growth
Chetwood Bank’s balance sheet has exceeded £5bn for the first time, City AM can reveal, after growing by £1bn in just three months.
The digital challenger bank surpassed the milestone in July, with chief executive Paul Noble noting the bank’s “great growth trajectory” and expanding customer base to the rise, after the balance sheet stood at £3.1bn in March 2024 before reaching £4bn in May this year.
The rise of challenger banks
Challenger banks have been steadily growing their customer base over the past few years, enticing customers away from traditional lenders through offering high interest rates, lower fees and “simple digital” services.
Over the past year, has introduced easy access accounts and ISAs, alongside its already established fixed rate accounts.
Speaking to Morning Wire, Noble said, “We consider not just what products we’re offering but how can customers access and manage their savings with us. I think the key piece on that really has been around digital simplification.
“It’s getting rid of all that red tape, getting rid of all the complexity.”
Chetwood offers competitive rates on its savings accounts, with 4.26 per cent interest offered on a variable account, while offers on fixed rates accounts start at 4.23 per cent for a three month term.
Northern expansion
The digital bank was established in 2016, opening its first office in Wrexham, before expanding to both Fleet and London.
Now, plans to open an office in Manchester are underway, with 40 members of staff already hired. Noble acknowledged the talent on offer in the North, particularly for specialist roles, as well the need to “bring on board” new employees as the bank continues to grow.
Noble said “Manchester is an absolute stronghold in the north of England, so it made logical sense for us…to open an office there.”
He added the bank remains committed to further “safe, stable growth”, with focus on launching future products that fit customer needs as market uncertainty continues to affect consumer confidence.
He concluded “We are trying to cover that spectrum to make sure our customers have a broad capability to access their money on the terms they need”.