Specialist bank GB Bank has been granted its full UK banking licence, providing property development loans to support regional projects, SMEs and construction companies.
The lender was granted a banking licence in October last year, at the time saying its initial focus would be on property developers in the North East, Yorkshire and North West.
GB Bank has reiterated its commitment to lend £3bn over five years, which will support the creation of over 100,000 jobs and 20,000 new homes.
Stephen Lancaster, CEO of GB Bank, said: “We are absolutely delighted to officially launch GB Bank. I’m incredibly proud of the entire team’s hard work, which has enabled us to achieve the fantastic milestone of securing our full UK banking licence.
“Everyone at GB Bank is raring to go and can’t wait to see, first-hand, the positive impact GB Bank will make to the communities across the UK.”
The firm said it put the “renewal and growth of regional communities at the heart of its lending policy”, and that it would provide accessible, bespoke property development loans with competitive fixed interest rates.
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The loans will be between £500,000 and £5m.
GB Bank also said it was committed to using local professional advisers, wanted to encourage local employment opportunities and “drive positive benefits in communities across the UK that need it most”.
Neil Williams, chief lending officer at GB Bank, said developers were facing “numerous challenges” including rising material costs, access to land and difficulty sourcing and retaining labour.
“We are helping by working with them to provide quick lending decisions to better enable them to commit to purchasing land, providing competitive fixed interest rates so they can more accurately calculate funding costs together with providing connections to a property ecosystem with local, professional advisors,” he added.
Williams continued that its loans were tailored to individual developers’ needs and requirements and relationship managers and credit partners were based locally and met with the developer early to ensure their needs are identified.
“This local decision-making ensures that the developer is quickly and efficiently supported throughout their lending journey. We have a real passion for the region and look forward to putting that knowledge and enthusiasm into supporting regional communities that need it most.”