Secure Trust boss eyes takeovers after Leave vote

The boss of challenger bank Secure Trust sees “more opportunities than threats arising from Brexit”.

Paul Lynam, chief executive of Secure, said he was now looking for opportunistic takeovers among non-bank lenders and more demand for the specialist lending he supplies.

But the biggest opportunity from Brexit, he said, was in creating a flatter playing field for challengers against the big banks.

“The biggest single inhibitor to challenger banks in recent years has been the European Banking Authority’s capital regulations,” he said.

“The UK government recognises that and has made it clear it would lower requirements for less-risky challenger and start-up banks.”

Secure battened down the hatches well before the Brexit vote. It sold its payday loans unit Everyday Loans Group for £127 million in April and stopped lending to housebuilders, increased its deposits rather than borrowing from wholesale markets, and delayed its entry into the UK mortgage market.

It now has little buy-to-let lending and its average loan runs for less than 30 months.

Before the Everyday proceeds, which were mainly handed back to shareholders through a special dividend, first half profits rose by 54% to £17.4 million.