Secure Trust Bank to launch invoice finance arm
SOLIHULL-based Secure Trust Bank has reported that it traded well during the quarter ending September 30 and revealed it is setting up an invoice finance operation.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange it said demand for lending and deposit products remained strong.
“The bank continues to enjoy favourable funding conditions and has raised additional five year fixed rate deposit funding during this period to mitigate the potential impact of interest rates rising sooner than some commentators expect,” it said.
“Secure Trust Bank has made significant progress with the development of its plans for the SME lending market. We will invest to develop our business initially in two areas – asset based lending, specifically the invoice finance market, and property.
“Clear opportunities to compete effectively in the invoice finance market have been identified and the directors believe these opportunities will increase as the larger banks seeking to improve their capital efficiency will encourage borrowers currently using overdrafts to use alternative funding products thus increasing demand for invoice finance and asset based lending.
“To that end we have recruited a managing director and chief operating officer who will build our new business in this area – Secure Trust Bank Invoice Finance (STB IF).”
Secure Trust said STB IF will target businesses typically operating with up to £5m of turnover and in need of cashflow funding.
It said it expects to begin writing new business in H1 2014.
Secure Trust Bank says it is encouraged by the on-going public acknowledgement that more needs to be done to foster competition in UK banking.
Its chief executive officer, Paul Lynam, is now chairing the challenger banks panel for the British Bankers Association. The panel members are using this forum to further the case for greater action by Government to create a level playing field for all banks, regardless of scale.
