Recognise Bank has announced that is has delivered over £100 million in SME lending.

It set the lending target when it gained its full banking licence in September 2021.

The bank also launched its personal savings range six months ago, within two days of receiving its full licence, and has already reached almost £95 million in deposits from savings customers.

Recognise Bank was created to support small and medium sized businesses that are often ignored by the mainstream banks. It combines service via relationship managers and cloud-based technology to speed up loan approvals and access to funds.

Bryce Glover, CEO, Recognise Bank, said: “Not only is this a huge lending milestone for Recognise Bank, it is also absolute proof that our digitally enabled, relationship banking model works. Through our lending we have supported a wide range of growing firms – whether it’s to acquire their own business premises or to help fund a green housing development – who otherwise would have struggled to find a bank that understood their needs and was willing to lend to them.

“The power of our relationship focus is evident in the customer satisfaction levels we’re achieving: our Net Promoter Scores with our lending customers hit an average of 81 for the first quarter of 2022, well above the usual levels for the financial services sector.

“Our next chapter is to continue helping UK SMEs, who are the lifeblood of the UK economy, but with an even greater focus on technology. We will be accelerating our digital agenda and future proofing Recognise. This will include speeding up, streamlining and digitalising operational and customer touchpoints, as well as developing new products and services to help businesses with the financial challenges they face.”

Recognise Bank is finalising plans to create a new Innovation Hub that will leverage the Bank’s existing technology platform and insight from working with growing businesses.

Later in April the Bank will also enter the business savings market, helping SMEs maximise the interest income potential of their cash surpluses.