OakNorth Bank enters business banking with high-touch current account as it hits £10bn in cumulative lending

Business lender OakNorth Bank is preparing to take on the likes of Barclays and Lloyds with its own business banking current account.

The account, which is currently subject to a waiting list for access, is aimed at OakNorth’s existing borrowers with revenues of between £1m-£100m and is being developed in partnership with customers to create “not another option in a sea of apps”.

One of OakNorth’s unique features will be a dedicated OakNorth Business Partner for every customer who will be contactable on the phone or via email and will understand their business and goals, akin to a traditional relationship manager in a bank.

“We know from the last eight years of serving our customers that they don’t feel their banking needs are being met by incumbents or other neobanks,” Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth said.

“They continue to be overlooked and underserved, despite the significant contribution they make to the economy and local communities in terms of productivity, innovation, job creation, and GDP growth.” 

“Given ongoing economic challenges, it is essential that these businesses have the right banking partner to support them, and we are excited to step up to fill this need.”

The news came as OakNorth confirmed it has now reached £10bn in cumulative lending to date, a figure that AltFi reported the bank was approaching in our exclusive interview with Khosla.

OakNorth previously announced that it had reached £900m of business lending in the first half of 2023, putting the bank on track to beat its 2022 FY lending of £1.6bn.