The Glasgow-based challenger bank, dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), onboarded two industry veterans Robert Sharpe and Andrew Lewis. 

The move comes almost half a year after the bank was granted a licence by the UK Prudential Regulatory Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, allowing it to move into mobilisation. During this time the bank focuses on assembling its team and refining and strengthening infrastructure and operations. 

Now the bank has secured two industry leaders for pivotal roles. Robert Sharpe joins the bank as chair of the board with over 45 years of experience in retail banking. He currently holds positions as chair at Metro Bank, Hampshire Trust Bank and Pollen Street.

“I’m looking forward to using my experience of building successful challenger banks to helping Alba achieve its vision and strategy. Alba is now well-set for the next stage of its journey, with a strong board, an experienced executive team and supportive shareholders,” said Sharpe. 

Alba bank also onboarded Andrew Lewis as its new chief risk officer (CRO). Lewis brings over 25 years of experience in financial services with him, most of which were spent at NatWest Group where he was instrumental in various senior business and risk roles. While there, he co-founded NatWest’s Esme Loans, an SME digital lending platform. 

“As CRO I’ll be focussed on helping mobilise a safe, scalable and sustainable bank, ensuring that we have the full confidence and backing of our key stakeholders, and offering compelling SME lending and online savings propositions to our customers,” said Lewis. 

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Alba bank was founded in 2018 by Jim McColl in response to the “void” left by mainstream banks when serving SMEs. In response to that, Alba is working to build a network of regional commercial finance experts to work closely with SMEs while they scale. 

According to a report from the UK parliament, SMEs account for roughly 60% of employment in the private sector, and make up 99% of private businesses in the UK. In Scotland, there are over 342,000 SMEs, accounting for 44% of Scottish employment according to a government survey. 

“I’ve spent a lot of my career working with the SME sector which has been consistently failed by the big banks. There are many reasons for that failure, but we see a real opportunity for Alba to champion this key part of the UK economy as a specialist lender,” said Lewis.