Participated · Series A · Aug 2021

Bank North (formerly Commercial and Northern Ltd, established 2018) is being developed to serve the UK business lending market with a focus on SMEs. Its model uses seamlessly integrated, cloud-native banking technology that powers a network of regional "pods" where experienced bankers deliver locally decided and locally delivered lending. The bank says this de-centralised approach will allow it to tailor lending to each customer and provide committed finance up to ten times faster than the industry standard. Bank North received an Authorised with Restrictions (AWR) banking licence from the UK Prudential Regulatory Authority and plans to open its first lending pod in Manchester later in the year, with lending due to start in October 2021 and a managed roll-out across the UK thereafter. The recently closed Series A funding round will support further development of its technology and provide operating capital to kick off lending activities. No operating revenue or user metrics for Bank North are disclosed in the articles.