Philip Hammond joins board of fintech lender OakNorth

Former chancellor Philip Hammond has joined UK fintech firm OakNorth to aid its growth plans.

Mr Hammond will become a member of the SoftBank-backed firm’s advisory board as it looks to accelerate its overseas expansion.

The ex-Treasury boss will join OakNorth’s board alongside Conservative grandee Francis Maude and former senior regulators Lord Adair Turner and Martin Stewart.

OakNorth is the second company Mr Hammond has joined since quitting politics last month, having joined the board of Irish glass and metal container business Ardagh Group.

His appointment comes almost a year after OakNorth was valued at 2.8 billion dollars (£2.1 billion) in a bumper fundraiser led by SoftBank’s vision fund.

The challenger bank lends to medium sized businesses in the UK and also licenses its credit technology to overseas lenders.

Mr Hammond said: “OakNorth is the flagship of the UK’s vital and fast-growing fintech sector – attracting record levels of investment and generating sustainable profits while bringing much-needed change to an undeserved area of the banking market.

“The development by OakNorth of a platform to deliver cost-effective lending to them is a major boost to the potential of not only the British economy, but economies worldwide.

“I look forward to being part of both OakNorth’s growth story in the UK and its expansion into international markets, licensing its platform to partners across the globe.”

Mr Hammond had been MP for Runnymede and Weybridge in Surrey for 22 years, having previously run a housebuilding business.

OakNorth co-founder Rishi Khosla, said: “He brings both an international perspective, having worked with finance ministers across the globe, as well as a deep understanding of the British economy.

“He will spend time with global clients and policymakers, as well as advising us on the continued expansion of our UK loan book.”

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