By Oliver Smith on Wednesday 26 May 2021
Tandem Bank’s pivot to becoming a green eco-bank continues.
After a year of massive changes, Tandem Bank has confirmed that CEO and co-founder Ricky Knox is leaving the business.
Knox is being replaced by Susie Aliker, who was most recently CEO of trade finance group BACB and, before that, spent 14 years at Credit Suisse.
Tandem has been pivoting its business from a consumer-facing credit card brand to become a ‘green bank’ with savings accounts and home loans to make energy-saving improvements.
The bank recently acquired a £100m mortgage book from Bank and Clients, a private bank holding assets from Northern Rock and Virgin Money, moving 300 mortgage customers over to Tandem.
Much of the change is being driven by investor Pollen Street Capital, which has been working with Tandem’s board and management “to create a banking platform which gives customers access to borrowing options that promote environmentally responsible homeownership and home improvement in the UK”.
The changes are a far cry from how Tandem was initially envisioned by Knox when he founded the business in 2014 as a banking alternative to compete with the likes of Monzo and Starling.
“Ricky will focus on developing his other activities in FinTech and the wider Financial Services arena,” said Tandem’s chair Jeffrey Pritchard, previously a non-executive director of Harrods Bank before it was acquired by Tandem in 2018 to secure a banking licence.
“Ricky leaves Tandem with our good wishes, and we would like to offer our thanks for his hard work and dedication in building Tandem.”
Knox was not quoted in the bank’s statement on his departure, and Aliker’s appointment is still subject to regulatory approval.
