Griffin Appoints Banking Veteran David Jenkins as Chief Financial Officer

Griffin, the UK-based banking-as-a-service provider, has appointed David Jenkins as Chief Financial Officer. For the fintech sector, this hire signals a transition from early-stage infrastructure building to a mature phase of scaling and capital management. Jenkins brings the regulatory and financial experience required for a bank to support high-growth platforms at scale.

What was announced

Griffin has named David Jenkins as its new Chief Financial Officer to lead the bank's finance function, including financial strategy, treasury, capital, liquidity, and financial planning. Jenkins arrives with nearly 30 years of experience in financial services. Most recently, he served as CFO and executive director at Vemi Money, where he established financial operations and risk management frameworks covering hiring, technology, and governance.

His background includes a tenure as CFO of Recognise Bank and the AIM-listed City of London Group, where he successfully led capital raises exceeding £40 million. Jenkins also played a key role at Aldermore for six years, co-managing its IPO and FTSE 250 listing in 2015 while building the capital allocation and reporting frameworks that supported the bank's expansion. Earlier in his career, he held senior finance roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Prudential UK, ABN AMRO, and Credit Suisse, having started in audit at Deloitte and PwC.

At Griffin, Jenkins will work alongside CEO and co-founder David Jarvis and the executive team to strengthen the institution's financial foundations. The appointment is intended to provide the financial rigour necessary for a regulated bank that operates with the speed of a technology firm as it enters its next chapter of growth.

"Griffin has built something rare: a bank that fintechs and platforms can build on, bringing the discipline and strength of a regulated institution with the speed of a technology company. I’ve spent my career helping banks at different stages of growth and I’m excited to bring that experience to a team with this much ambition."

David Jenkins, Chief Financial Officer, Griffin

The companies involved

Griffin is a UK-based bank specifically designed for fintechs and platforms. It operates as a "bank-in-a-box," providing the core banking infrastructure and regulatory umbrella that allows other companies to offer financial products without having to secure their own full banking licenses. By combining a full UK banking license with a modern API-first technology stack, Griffin positions itself as a critical layer of the UK's financial services ecosystem.

The firm focuses on providing integrated services such as accounts, payments, and safeguarding, aimed at reducing the friction usually associated with traditional banking partnerships. Unlike legacy institutions, Griffin’s platform is built to handle the high-velocity demands of modern software companies while maintaining the strict compliance and capital requirements of a regulated bank. With 28 previous mentions in FF News coverage, the company has established itself as a prominent player in the banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and embedded finance markets, competing by offering a more direct, vertically integrated alternative to middleware providers.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has tracked Griffin’s expanding influence through several key partnerships and integrations. Recently, the bank played a central role in Countingup and Griffin Power MoneySuperMarket’s Strategic Entry into Business Banking, demonstrating its ability to support major consumer brands. This followed the news that Countingup Partners with Griffin to Launch Integrated Business Bank Accounts for UK SMEs, a move that brought streamlined banking to small businesses. Griffin’s infrastructure has also been utilized by specialized fintechs, as seen when Saible Raises £2.9m to Combat Late Payments in UK Construction Supply Chains. Additionally, Griffin’s presence in the SME sector was highlighted in coverage of how ANNA Money Unveils Product Expansion as SMEs Face Rising Tax and Admin Pressures.

What this means

The appointment of a CFO with IPO and large-scale capital-raising experience suggests that Griffin is moving beyond the "proof of concept" stage. In the current fintech climate, where regulators are scrutinizing banking-as-a-service (BaaS) models more closely, having a veteran from traditional and challenger banking like Jenkins is a strategic move. It provides the institutional gravity needed to reassure both regulators and enterprise-level partners. The industry is seeing a shift where technical agility is no longer enough for BaaS providers; survival now depends on sophisticated capital allocation and treasury management. This hire puts pressure on other infrastructure players to prove they have similar executive depth to manage the complexities of a full banking license.