Newly independent Yorkshire Bank undertakes cost cutting exercise

YORKSHIRE BANK is preparing itself for the latest phase of its development following a demerger from the National Bank of Australia.

Yorkshire and and sister bank Clydesdale Bank officially became independent in February 2016, and were listed on the London Stock Exchange and Australian Securities Exchange.

Now, under a leadership team including newly appointed chief risk officer Mark Thundercliffe as well as Clive Adamson and Paul Coby who were appointed as independent non-executive directors, Yorkshire Bank has begun life again on its own.

It is already making progress on cost reductions, with full year expectations now £730m down from £762m initially.

Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks have also reported that SME loans were up 10%.

David Duffy, chief executive, commented: “We have a strong momentum in our business, continuing to grow ahead of the market in mortgages and over £1bn of SME loans and facilities were made available in the first half.

“Over the next six months I am confident we will show continued progress against our targets and delivery of commitments for our customers, our people and our shareholders.

Jim Pettigrew, chairman, commented: “I’m delighted to deliver our first set of results as an independent company after our demerger and IPO in February this year.

“We’re focussed on building a high performing, customer centric organisation with strong productivity and efficiency. Becoming an independent PLC has been a catalyst for our ongoing cultural transformation.”