Conister Bank obtains UK deposit-taking licence

Manx Financial Group PLC, the holding company providing a range of diversified financial services to the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom, is delighted to announce that on 16 October 2023 the Group’s wholly owned banking subsidiary, Conister Bank Limited (“Conister”), obtained authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) (and consent from the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) in the United Kingdom to accept deposits.

Conister already has an Isle of Man Class 1(1) Deposit Taking licence issued by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) and is regulated by the FCA for the provision of consumer credit lending in the UK. Conister’s branch application required PRA, FCA FSA’s consent. Receiving authorisation not only allows Conister to grow its balance sheet substantially through a mixture of UK deposits and wholesale funding, but it is also the first time an Isle of Man bank has been authorised in the UK to accept deposits.

Douglas Grant, the Group’s CEO said: “Obtaining PRA authorisation for our UK branch to accept deposits not only serves as validation of our growth strategy by both our principal regulator and the UK regulators, but it also marks a significant milestone in the Group’s evolution. Authorisation will provide Conister with access to UK deposits, supplementing liquidity received from its loyal Isle of Man depositors. We will deploy this additional liquidity to build on our reported record lending in the first half of this year as we expect to lend a record £0.4 billion this year.”