Afin Bank has been granted its banking licence Authorisation with Restrictions (AwR).

Afin Bank has been created to help people from Africa who find it difficult to get mortgages because of their nationality, visa status or lack of credit history in the UK, despite being part of some of the country’s most thriving communities, doing vital jobs and running their own businesses.

As a new specialist lender, Afin Bank’s products will also suit a wide variety of non-standard customers, such as high net worth borrowers, professionals and self-employed people, who struggle to get a mortgage through mainstream providers.

The bank aims to start lending next year through intermediaries, as well as via a digital app, offering residential and buy-to-let mortgages to people living in England and Wales, as well as buy-to-let mortgages for borrowers based overseas in the West African Countries of Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Gambia investing in the UK property market.

Afin Bank will also offer a range of FSCS protected savings products to savers with a UK passport, as well people from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia resident in the UK.

It is backed by parent company, WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc (WAICA Re), one of the largest reinsurance companies in Africa and in the top 100 reinsurers worldwide. It has committed £60m to Afin Bank.

Afin Bank’s CEO is Jason Oakley, who co-founded SME lender Recognise Bank in 2021. Alan Davison, formerly distribution director at Together Personal Finance, is chief commercial officer.

Announcing the AwR licence, Davison said: “Not only is this an important milestone for Afin Bank, it is also great news for under-served customers who are not being supported by mainstream lenders.

“While there are some buy-to-let products available to non-UK nationals, there are very few residential mortgages designed for foreign nationals looking to buy their own home. Borrowers are usually considered by most banks simply on credit appetite, rather than being offered products that suit their needs.

“Afin Bank’s credit underwriting will be tuned to our customers’ circumstances, ensuring common-sense decisions, quick service and certainty for the borrower and their intermediary, for both residential and buy-to-let lending.”