Allica Bank joins APPG for Challenger Banks and Building Societies

UK-based Allica Bank has become the latest challenger bank to join the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Challenger Banks and Building Societies as an associate member of the group.

The APPG is a group of MPs and peers, chaired by Rt. Hon Karen Bradley MP, that seeks to inform parliamentarians of all parties about the challenger banks and building societies sector, the issues and challenges facing them, and to promote diversity within the sector.

The reports recently published by the group have looked at post-Brexit regulatory reform, Covid-19, and the diversity of financial institutions in the UK.

Bradley said: “Allica join us at a moment of great challenge but also great opportunity for the challenger bank sector. After a busy 2021, which has seen the APPG publish a number of reports, we have even more exciting activity in the pipeline for 2022.

“The APPG will strive to continue to highlight the issues that challenger banks and building societies face in the current market and to make the marketplace more diverse and competitive for the benefit of consumers and the wider economy.”

Allica Bank will be sponsoring the APPG’s annual reception, which is due to be held in Parliament on 29 March 2022.

Richard Davies, CEO of Allica Bank, added: “It is vital we deliver more competition and choice for customers and clients in the UK banking market.

“The UK is a hotbed for fintech and financial services innovation, but there is still more to be done to ensure new entrants and challengers operate on a truly level playing field with the big five incumbent banks, and the APPG is critical to raising awareness and understanding of that important agenda.”

In November last year, Allica Bank acquired a £0.6 billion SME lending portfolio from AIB, following its withdrawal from the UK market.