Edinburgh bank for well heeled riding out pandemic as deposits jump to £65m

Graeme Hartop is the chief executive of Hampden & Co, the Edinburgh-based private bank. Picture: Stewart Attwood

Total lending was up 16 per cent against the previous quarter at £289m and increased 77 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

Deposits also increased over the quarter, up £5.2m, despite the drop in interest rates to historic lows, and were up 13 per cent at £65m, year-on-year.

Hampden & Co was founded in 2010, opening for business in 2015 when it became the first new UK private bank launch in quarter of a century. It also has offices in London.

The bank is raising an additional £3m from existing investors during the final quarter of 2020, which will take its overall share capital raise to some £10m.

Following on from board announcements earlier this year, including the arrival of Simon Miller as chairman, David Huntley has joined the board and will become chairman of the risk committee upon regulatory approval.

Huntley, who is a qualified actuary, is said to bring “significant financial sector experience” from Pearl Life, Scottish Re and Swiss Re Life.

Graeme Hartop, Hampden & Co chief executive, said: “We strengthened both the leadership team and the board this year, and David is another key appointment for the bank.”

He added: “New clients of the bank have expressed their need for access to banking expertise, especially during the pandemic, and their increased dissatisfaction with the service levels at high street banks.

“We have all been facing up to such a challenging environment this year, it has not been an easy time for anyone, and we have concentrated our efforts on helping clients to mitigate the economic impact and to navigate these difficult times.”

In September, the bank extended its range of services with the launch of an interest-only retirement mortgage aimed at people managing their inheritance tax liabilities or who want to raise a lump sum without disturbing other assets.

Hartop said: “We have established a strong position in the market, in no small part by supporting clients with complex finances who typically fall outside the algorithm-driven lending approach of the mainstream banks. This new mortgage service extends our overall offering in this area.”

In August, the bank said it had grown its deposits by £82m in the first half, a year-on-year increase of 24 per cent, while lending was up by £94m, a rise of 61 per cent.

The bank said it had continued to build its client base during lockdown. Overall, income growth during the first half amounted to 16 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In May, Hampden & Co secured a £7m capital injection from its four cornerstone investors as it looked to help its well-heeled clients ride out the Covid-19 storm.

The funding would support balance sheet growth, costs and regulatory requirements, Hampden said at the time. It was the intention that other shareholders would have the opportunity to invest later in 2020, on similar terms.

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