LHV Bank Appoints Former Starling Executive Damian Thompson as CEO to Drive SME Growth

LHV Bank has appointed Damian Thompson as its new Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director to spearhead a major expansion into the UK’s SME lending market. Thompson, a former Starling Bank executive, brings decades of experience in scaling digital loan portfolios, signaling a strategic shift for the digital-first bank as it targets growth beyond its existing retail and technology foundations.

What was announced

Damian Thompson will officially join LHV Bank on 4 January 2027, pending regulatory approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. In his capacity as CEO and Executive Director, he is tasked with leading the next stage of the bank's growth, specifically focusing on the expansion of lending services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the United Kingdom.

Thompson’s career spans over 35 years in the UK banking and financial services sector. He spent nearly 20 years in senior roles at NatWest Markets before moving to the executive team at Starling Bank in 2021. During his tenure at Starling, he was instrumental in growing the bank’s loan portfolio from its early stages to more than £5 billion, with a heavy emphasis on mortgages and SME products. His responsibilities there included oversight of retail overdrafts, loan products, and asset management.

In addition to his work at Starling, Thompson served as the CEO of Fleet Mortgages, which operates as Starling’s buy-to-let lending arm. Beyond his corporate roles, Thompson has been a prominent figure in the wider industry, having chaired the Specialist Banks Advisory Forum at UK Finance, a body representing banks outside the "big five" UK institutions. His appointment is intended to leverage this combination of traditional banking experience and digital-first scaling expertise.

"LHV Bank has strong foundations for its next phase of growth: advanced technology, the backing of a Group with a sustained record of profitable growth, and a clear ambition to expand its lending. The opportunity to lead a bank with that tech advantage through rapid growth while maintaining the highest standards of risk management and regulatory compliance is compelling. I look forward to working with the UK team and colleagues across the Group to lead LHV Bank into its next chapter."

Damian Thompson, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of LHV Bank Limited.

The companies involved

LHV Bank Limited operates as the UK banking subsidiary of AS LHV Group, an Estonian financial heavyweight. The bank positions itself as a digital-first institution, leveraging a strong technology platform to provide banking services. While its parent company, LHV Group, maintains a significant presence in the Baltic region, the UK entity has been carving out a niche in the British market by focusing on retail banking, SME lending, and providing infrastructure for other fintech firms. The bank is currently overseen by Mihkel Torim, who serves as the Chairman of the Board.

LHV Bank has increasingly focused on its local presence in the UK, moving away from being seen purely as a foreign subsidiary and instead establishing itself as a domestic player with its own regulatory standing and leadership team. The group is known for its entrepreneurial approach and has a history of maintaining profitable growth while investing heavily in its underlying technology stack. This technological advantage is a core part of its strategy to compete with both traditional high-street banks and newer neo-bank rivals in the crowded UK financial landscape.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed LHV Bank’s operational expansion and technological evolution throughout 2026. In September, we reported that LHV Bank Expands Leeds Presence with New 'Northern Square Mile' Headquarters, a move designed to support its regional growth. Earlier in the year, the bank signaled its focus on the consumer sector when LHV Bank Appoints Alex Beavis as Interim Director of Retail Banking.

The bank has also been active in research and innovation. In July, LHV Bank Research Exposes UK Savings Gap: 53% of Savers Unsure if Interest Rates are Competitive, revealing that over half of savers were uncertain about interest rate competitiveness. Furthermore, the bank has embraced emerging tech, as seen when LHV Bank to Explore AI Usage With Gradient Labs to Support Retail Customers to enhance its retail customer support.

What this means

The appointment of a former Starling executive suggests LHV Bank is ready to challenge the UK’s mid-market lending space more aggressively. By hiring a leader who helped scale a major digital bank’s loan book to £5 billion, LHV is signaling that it no longer wants to be viewed primarily as a technology provider or a niche player. The UK SME lending market is currently under pressure from high interest rates and cautious traditional lenders, creating an opening for digital-first banks with lower overheads. However, the success of this transition will depend on LHV’s ability to balance rapid asset growth with the rigorous risk management standards Thompson has highlighted.