Preston City Council has invested £250,000 in the development of NW Mutual, a regional bank which will be owned by and serve people and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the north west of England.
Under the plans, the mutual will operate a network of more than 60 branches, including 16 in Lancashire, more than 20 in Greater Manchester, 12 in Liverpool and Merseyside, 10 in Cheshire and six in Cumbria. The head office will be in Preston, with the bank planning to open in 2027.
The cash from Preston will be pay for existing and future staff and key systems involved in the development of the bank, and as a contribution to acquiring a banking licence from the Bank of England, with an application due this year.
The bank is one of a number of regional mutuals being planned around the UK, notably Banc Cambria in Wales, a project which has been delayed after Monmouthshire Building Society pulled its support in 2023, citing “the current unpredictability and ongoing challenges facing the UK economy”. And efforts in the West Country are still under way to launch South West Mutual as “a lean, volunteer-led member organisation”.
For Preston, the NW Mutual fits in with the Labour council’s programme of community wealth building and its support for the co-op and mutual model. But it has been criticised by opposition Lib Dem and Conservative councillors who warn taxpayers’ money is being risked.
Announcing the funding, Cllr Valerie Wise, cabinet member for community wealth building on the council, said: “Preston City Council is proud to invest in NW Mutual… Being owned by its customers and not shareholders, NW Mutual will focus on community wellbeing, returning profits to members and reinvested in local communities, generating economic growth.”
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Dave Burke, CEO of the NW Mutual, added: “This invaluable and welcome commitment of £250,000 will help to create a bank that is built by people of the north west, for the people and businesses of the region.
“We will bring branches back to the high street, make lending decisions based on knowledge of the region and its people and businesses, and distribute the profits from the bank to its members. We continue to seek additional investment from other local authorities and the private sector.”
The mutual plans a mix of staffed branches and mobile an online banking, providing financial products and services to retail and SME customers.
Its leadership includes chief financial officer Iwan Jones, who has 30 years under his belt with executive roles at Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest, JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. He was chief risk officer at Saffron Building Society, deputy financial director at Principality Building Society and most recently, financial director at Monmouthshire Building Society.
Chair David Milner is an executive and non-executive director of regulated financial services companies, including the chairs at Dudley Building Society and Nottingham Imperial Building Society.
Non-executive director James Moore founded the Community Savings Bank Association and has more than 25 years’s boardroom experience with private and public businesses around the world.
About £1m has already been invested to build the systems and financial model of NW Mutual, prepare the banking licence application and analysis of its market.
