The bank launched its first set of savings products last week, which were well-received by commentators and has also become the shirt sponsor of Newcastle United FC.
The new business will offer savings, mortgages, credit cards, investments, pensions, insurance and online fundraising through virginmoneygiving.com, with current accounts and SME lending to come in 2013.
There is no timeline confirmed yet on the mortgage launch.
Led by chief executive officer, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, (pictured) the Virgin Money board will include Sir David Clementi as non-executive chairman of Virgin Money and non-executive directors Norman McLuskie, Colin Keogh, Gordon McCallum and Jim Lockhart.
The Virgin Money executive team includes:
• Chief Financial Officer, Finlay Williamson
• Product & Commercial Director, Pete Ball
• Chief Risk Officer, Marian Watson
• General Counsel, Stephen Pearson
• Chief Operating Officer, Mark Parker
• Corporate Development Director, Dave Dyer
• Marketing Director, Paul Lloyd
• Customer & Distribution Director, Jim MacDonald
• People Director, Matt Elliott
CEO Gadhia said: “Together, with the newly combined workforce, we have a significant opportunity to build a new kind of bank, one that people will want to be a part of.”
Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group said: “The Virgin Group has always gone into markets where there’s been an opportunity to make things better for customers. We’ve been doing it for 40 years, with some real milestone moments along the way, from our first steps in the record industry to launching Virgin Atlantic. Now we want to do the same for banking.
“It’s not something we take lightly. There’s a lot of hard work ahead. But we have the people, the products and the plans in place.”
Virgin Money bought Northern Rock from Her Majesty’s Treasury on 17 November 2011, which included a £14bn mortgage book, 75 Northern Rock branches and 1m customers, bringing Virgin’s customer-base up to 4m.
