Fiinu has confirmed the appointment of new members to its Senior Leadership Team. Chris Sweeney, Philip Tansey, Huw Evans and Wan Chuen Lau all join the firm in anticipation of Bank of England (BoE) authorization of its bank license application. Fiinu posted on its website that following successful completion of the banking application process, Fiinu 2 Limited will change its name to Fiinu Bank Limited.
Fiinu filed its application with the Bank of England for a permit in December 2021.
The company is working on its innovative banking offering in order to assist retail clients with building their credit profiles via the provision of a credit limit by a bank lender instead of mainstream providers.
Fiinu’s product offering should help with increasing financial inclusion, rather than negatively impacting clients’ credit scores.
Joining the executive management team as CEO is Chris Sweeney, who offers a wealth of experience in retail banking and consumer finance, alongside an established track record of supporting businesses via transformational development. With more than 20 years experience in the industry, Chris joins after working as CEO of 118 Money, and also previously as CEO of Vanquis Bank, where he led the bank’s digitalization agenda.
The firm’s new Group CFO, Philip Tansey, joins Fiinu from AIM quoted financial services group, WH Ireland Group Plc, where he served as CFO and COO.
Along with this expertise, Philip has considerable experience heading global operations in dynamic enterprises, positioning Fiinu for future international expansion.
Philip has previously served in roles at Panmure Gordon, BGC Partners, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse in a career spanning more than 2 decades.
Huw Evans joins the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director (iNED) after almost 40 years experience in financial services, including 30 years at Barclays Bank.
With expertise in wholesale, small business and consumer credit, as well as enterprise-wide banking risk, Huw brings with him extensive knowledge as a risk professional. Prior to joining Fiinu, Huw was Chief Credit Officer at the Commercial Bank of Qatar where he was responsible for all aspects of enterprise-wide consumer credit origination, processing, scoring and recovery.
Wan Chuen Lau has joined as Chief Conduct and Culture Officer.
Before Fiinu, she was responsible for leading the legal, operational and portfolio management functions at Wadhawan Global, a family office with a specific mandate to invest in UK financial services firms, start-ups and technology enablers.
She also previously worked at PwC, where she assisted the senior partner to grow a new banking licensing business unit and became the leader in assisting technology-led start-ups to gain authorization in the United Kingdom.
She has previously led teams at the FSA/FCA focusing on M&A and new authorizations involving niche business models, including Fintech firms.
David Hopton, Chairman at Fiinu, said:
“The market we are looking to address demands the highest standards of oversight and care and we believe that our senior hires have the expertise to guide us to our next phase. The overwhelming majority of us are feeling the emerging cost of living crisis. This has created an exciting area of potential growth for a new niche banking model, with an unbundling strategy and borrowing long, lending short business principles. I am proud to chair a new bank-in-waiting which has the right expertise and ambition to provide a real helping hand to customers, while innovating traditional banking.”
Dr Marko Sjoblom, Fiinu’s Founder, stated:
“These senior appointments mark our confidence in our anticipation of Fiinu’s regulatory approval. The combined experience of the new senior management team is impressive and showcases a varied and highly relevant skillset, allowing us to see our vision through as an authorized bank in the future. Fiinu has a unique offering for customers, and we look forward to talking more about this in the coming months. I firmly believe that our fintech platform will revolutionize financial fairness and provide much needed freedom for consumers.”