Thapa was formerly with Deutsche Bank for more than a decade, most recently responsible for areas including data, strategy and business architecture with a focus on loans by DB’s corporate and investment banking divisions.

In 2008, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay.

At Recognise, a subsidiary of the City of London Group, Thapa has a multi-pronged remit, including spearheading development of  the bank’s technology needs and leading a new innovation team charged with creating new revenue streams while also developing new and existing products and services. 

Thapa said: “Our strategy will be to consolidate and build around Recognise Bank’s existing cloud-based digital banking stack and introduce new products and services, while creating seamless integrated experiences for the bank’s stakeholders – partners, intermediaries, employees and customers. We will leverage data driven analytics to assist decision-making and build solutions for customer and business needs.”

Technology teams, he said, “can be catalysts for change and innovation. At Recognise Bank, we will use technology, data and our SME banking experience to create products and services that help companies do more business and do it better.”

Sponsored

Shawbrook is the specialist mortgage sector’s ‘best kept secret’ – Sard

Sponsored by Shawbrook Bank

Bryce Glover, the Recognise chief executive, said: “Technology has been the bedrock of Recognise Bank since the beginning, and it meant we could build the bank quickly and cost-effectively by partnering with some of the sector’s leading fintech providers. But having established Recognise Bank as a force to reckon with in the SME marketplace, as shown by our £100m in lending, we need to move forward and create a world beating bank for a small business sector that is rapidly changing.

“I’m delighted we have been able to attract somebody of Sahil’s calibre and experience. I truly believe he has the vision and ability to lead the bank’s technology strategy and give us the tools to help accelerate our growth.”

Recognise Bank received its full authorisation in September 2021, and since then has lent more than £100m to SMEs in the UK, the bank said. It recently announced a capital fundraising that brought in £8.7m to develop its digital capability and to support future lending.