Afin Bank has been created “to help under-served Africans and other diaspora communities living and working in the UK to get mortgages”.
The firm is aiming to launch its savings and savings accounts later this year, having received its banking licence authorisation with restrictions in October last year.
Afin Bank said it plans to offer a range of residential and buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages to borrowers in the UK and BTL borrowers in certain African countries, in addition to savings accounts for all UK-based savers.
It added that its lending products could also be suitable for high-net-worth (HNW) borrowers and self-employed workers.
Afni Bank is backed by African reinsurer WAICA Re, which has committed £62m to set up the venture.
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Hale was most recently the head of finance at FCMB Bank UK, a Nigeria-based banking group, for nearly eight years. Before that, he was a senior finance manager at Ariadne Capital for around five years.
Afin Bank opened London offices earlier this year ahead of its planned product launch later this year.
The firm has also hired Rebecca Lewis as its head of operations and Simrat Gill as its senior underwriter in preparation for launch later this year.
Hale will be involved in a range of different aspects for the bank, working closely with all departments as Afin Bank approaches its full launch.
Charles Resnick, Afin Bank’s CFO, said: “Peter is a key addition to the team and brings lots of expertise in banking and finance, which is invaluable ahead of our planned launch later this year. Peter’s previous experience of working with the African community will be important in helping to make Afin the bank for under-served diaspora communities in the UK.”
Hale added: “The proposition of providing effortless banking to under-served customers, be that from the African diaspora and other under-served foreign nationals, young professionals or the self-employed, was really easy to get on board with and one that I am excited to help deliver. But I was also attracted to the passion of the people at Afin Bank and their commitment to building a new bank with a strong purpose.
“Joining a new bank ahead of full launch means I get to leverage my experience to help build and shape the end-to-end banking process, from commercial aspects through to the operational processes. That’s the kind of challenge that I enjoy.”
