Hampden & Co cuts its losses

Edinburgh-headquartered challenger bank Hampden & Co unveiled a picture or progress yesterday as the group published reduced operating losses for 2016 in its first full year of trading.

Hampden & Co said it had seen “steep growth on both sides of the balance sheet”, as deposits grew to £143 million, an increase of £113m over the year, and loans lifted to £48m, up from £12m at the end of 2015.

Ray Entwistle, chairman of the fledgeling banking group, commented: “We are building the bank on the premise that, in an age impersonalised by technology but impacted by financial complexity, personal service remains an important requirement for many.

“We are very pleased with the progress of the bank, and the positive reaction we have received from our clients.”

In terms of the bank’s overall financial performance, income grew to £1.6m (£0.2m 2015), expenditure was £7.9m, down from £8.3m in the previous year, leading to a reduced operating loss of £6.3m.

That compared with a loss of £8.1m in 2015. Graeme Hartop, chief executive of Hampden & Co, hailed the results as “excellent for such a young bank”. He said: “Our prudent approach to banking, and the service we offer clients is already translated into an improved financial performance.

“The strength of the bank is fundamentally driven by the quality of our people, and as we continue to attract an excellent calibre of banker to our business, we are accelerating the pace at which we are attracting clients”. Hampden & Co opened in June 2015 to offer private banking facilities to high net worth clients, and their families. Entwistle is former boss of Scottish private bank, Adam &Co.