(Bloomberg) -- Masthaven Bank Ltd. is withdrawing from the U.K. banking market over the next two years due to a shortfall in long-term capital needed to grow the business.
The bank, which has been lending since 2004 and acquired a banking license in 2016, will reduce and ultimately sell off its loans and return all deposits to customers, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Masthaven had deposits of 773 million pounds ($1.04 billion) for the year ended April 30 and employs around 180 people in London and Reading.
“We assessed a range of options, but all of them required a significant commitment of long-term capital and we have not been able to secure the level of investment necessary to grow the bank while serving our customers efficiently and effectively,” said Chief Executive Officer Leigh Bartlett. The lender said it has sufficient capital and liquidity to repay savings customers in an orderly fashion by the end of 2023, on or before maturity dates.
The firm, which had 4,094 mortgage customers and 18,452 savings customers at the end of April, will stop taking new loan applications this week, although it will continue to process current applications. Varde Partners invested 60 million pounds in the bank in 2019.
A spokeswoman for the Prudential Regulation Authority declined to comment.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
POPULAR