Raider ups stake in digital bank

ACTIVIST investor Elliott has pumped another £20 million into British start-up bank Chetwood. The latest investment from the New York-based hedge fund takes its stake in the digital lender to £134 million.

Elliott is among a string of Wall Street firms including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs to pile into Britain’s digital banking and wealth management industry.

Goldman Sachs launched its UK online bank Marcus in 2018 while rival bank JP Morgan is plotting to unveil a digital bank, Chase, in September. JP Morgan also snapped up online wealth manager Nutmeg last month for £700 million. Wrexham-based Chetwood was founded by former HSBC banker Andy Mielczarek in 2016. The bank, which opened an office in London last year, offers products that are different from the high street lenders.

Chetwood provides loans with interest rates that fall as a borrower’s credit score improves. Fees for late payments were ditched because the bank says it is ‘unfair’ to penalise customers.

Business lender OakNorth was the first of the digital upstarts to report an annual profit.