N26 appoints permanent replacement for chief risk officer

After kicking off the year with a series of high-level departures, N26 has found a permanent chief risk officer (CRO).

Carina Kozole will take over the C-suite role from interim CRO Jan Stechele later this year, who will continue as managing director.

Stechel, who previously served as director of banking excellence for a year, stepped into the role in April after Thomas Grosse resigned for personal reasons the month before.

Kozole joins from German bank UniCredit Bank AG where she was senior vice president and head of credit risk operations (Europe, Americas, Asia).

“I am excited to be coming on board to help build out the future of risk and compliance for one of the most dynamic digital innovators in our industry,” Kozole said.

“Having seen what the team at N26 has achieved over the years, I believe that the company is well placed to deliver customer innovation in a highly regulated space, delivering new solutions that can be best-in-class examples in our sector.”

Kozole could bring some stability to the Berlin-based bank, which also lost its chief financial officer at the start of the year.

It also laid off 4 per cent of its staff — 71 people — in May, tackling what the company described as “significant and long-lasting changes to the global business landscape” over the last year.