Afin Bank has established its Centre of Excellence within an office in the centre of Birmingham.
The new office in Temple Row, in Birmingham’s city centre, is Afin Bank’s first site outside of London and reflects the lender’s ambitions for growth and its desire to create a diverse and inclusive business that reflects the needs of its customers.
The office will be home to its operations functions ahead of the bank’s planned launch next year.
Afin Bank received its banking Authorisation with Restrictions1 (AwR) in October and plans to offer residential and buy-to-let mortgages to African nationals living and working in the UK, as well supporting other underserved borrowers such as the self-employed, high-net worth borrowers and professionals with non-standard incomes.
Nicola Tunney, Afin Bank’s chief people and operating officer, who will oversee the new office, said the lender had undertaken an extensive search across the UK before choosing the Midlands.
She said: “We looked at a number of locations around the country to find the right type of property space with good travel links and access to a pool of great candidates to build our new teams and also support our future growth. Birmingham came out tops.
“Birmingham is a fabulous city in its own right. It’s bustling, it’s dynamic and it’s very diverse, which is important to us as we recruit and create an inclusive culture that is at the heart of what Afin Bank stands for. It feels like a place in which we can really grow.”
The new office will be home to Afin Bank’s core operations teams, including customer service and credit and lending support, which Tunney is currenlty developing. She said that recruiting people from a diverse background was important to ensure an understanding of the barriers that the bank’s customers face, many of whom are from different cultures and communities.
In addition to being the Centre of Excellence for Afin Bank’s customer service and support teams, the new office will also be a hub for other colleagues, including the bank’s Board which will be alternating its meeting between London and Birmingham.
Afin Bank will be based at Runway East, a flexible office space in Temple Row’s Arca building.
Tunney explained: “Runway East is a great location, with good transport links for colleagues, close to train, bus and tram stops, as well as being in the vibrant heart of Birmingham.
“It is a warm and engaging workspace, which is important if you want to attract the best candidates. As a start-up business, particularly in financial services, we want to shake off the dusty old image associated with banks, so Runway East provides a modern, collaborative working environment, with plenty of capacity to support us as we grow.”
