Change of chief at top Scottish bank after more than a decade

Incoming CEO Tracey Davidson says Hampden & Co 'has significant ambitions for the future, and I look forward to leading the bank to further success'. Picture: contributed.

An Edinburgh-based lender that nearly a decade ago became the first UK private bank to launch in about three decades has announced a changing of the chief executive guard after 11 years. Hampden & Co has appointed Tracey Davidson to the role, and she will join in the autumn when incumbent Graeme Hartop, who is retiring, steps down.

Davidson will join from Handelsbanken UK where she is deputy chief executive, having joined from Barclays in 2003 to expand banking operations in the UK. The businesswoman is also chair of Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management and a board member at the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (Pimfa).

She praised Hampden & Co’s “highly personalised” banking service for clients, their families and businesses, adding: “It has significant ambitions for the future, and I look forward to leading the bank to further success.”

Also commenting was Simon Miller, chair of the board at Hampden & Co, who stated: “We are delighted Tracey is joining Hampden & Co as our new CEO. She was the outstanding candidate in a very strong field, and she is very well respected in the market, among peers and by clients and professional intermediaries.

“Graeme has led the bank through launch to profitability, with record levels of deposits, lending, and client numbers. We wish him great success in the next phase of life, and thank him for his commitment, leadership, and vision in building strong foundations for Hampden & Co.”

Davidson’s appointment comes after Hampden & Co in its recent annual results said total lending rose 9 per cent in 2023 to £488 million on the back of increased demand for personalised banking.. Deposits increased 8 per cent to £858m, with term accounts seeing net inflows of £142m. The lender's pre-tax profit came in at £9.1m, up from £2m in 2022.

Hartop in 2013 joined Hampden & Co, having been approached by banking industry veteran Ray Entwistle to discuss setting up a new lender to accommodate the commercial banking needs of high-net-worth individuals, and said he spied a “really significant opportunity in the market”.