Andy Mielczarek is stepping down as CEO of Chetwood Financial almost 10 years after co-founding the company.
Paul Noble, CEO of JN Bank UK, has been announced as his replacement, subject to regulatory approval.聽
Founded in 2016, Wrexham-based digital bank Chetwood Financial received a restricted banking licence in late 2017 before being granted a full UK banking licence in December 2018.聽
Since 2019, more than 拢3.5 billion has been deposited with Chetwood Financial鈥檚 savings proposition SmartSave.聽
Earlier in 2024, the company also entered the buy-to-let mortgage market with the acquisition of the specialist lender CHL Mortgages for Intermediaries from Barossa Asset Purchaser Sarl in May and will launch ModaMortgages in the near future.聽聽
Mielczarek has been Chetwood Financial鈥檚 CEO since its inception. Before this he was the deputy head of HSBC鈥檚 UK retail bank, having previously been commercial director and head of retail products for HSBC Europe.聽
Prior to that he held roles including CFO at M&S Bank, head of commercial finance at MBNA, and brokerage operations director at Charles Schwab.聽
Mielczarek will leave the company at the end of this month. He is taking some time out before deciding on his next move.聽
鈥淲hat a journey it鈥檚 been. Starting a new bank was never going to be easy, and I am proud to see the progress Chetwood has made,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom opening our first office in Wrexham and getting a banking licence, to taking billions of pounds in deposits and expanding into different markets, the company has gone from strength to strength over the years.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 a testament to the brilliant people who work here, and the unwavering focus on creating financial products that make people better off.聽
鈥淎fter 10 years, now鈥檚 the right time for me to hand over the reins to someone new. There are such exciting, bold plans for Chetwood over the coming months and years, and now鈥檚 a logical time for a change in leadership to inject fresh life into the business and guide it through the next stage of its journey.
鈥淚鈥檝e no doubt Paul is the right person to do just that, and I wish him and the entire organisation all the very best.鈥�
Noble (pictured above) joins Chetwood Financial from JN Bank UK, where he was CEO of the banking outfit whose products and services include savings accounts, loans and mortgages.聽聽
Noble has over 25 years鈥� experience in financial services, spanning startups and large banks. Before JN Bank, Noble spent six years at Pollen Street Capital, an asset manager focussed on financial services. There he led the investment into Tandem Bank which was complemented with additional business acquisitions.聽
Noble previously co-founded 118 118 Money to provide an alternative for customers unable to borrow from their bank.聽
Ian Lonergan, group chair of Chetwood Financial, added: 鈥淔irstly, we must recognise what an incredible job Andy has done in building Chetwood Financial from just an idea to being a fully-fledged digital bank that delivers market-leading products.聽
鈥淗e has an inspiring level of drive, determination and vision, and he leaves the business in an extremely strong position.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited to now welcome Paul as CEO 鈥� given his vast experience and superb leadership skills, we have every confidence that he will steer us confidently through the next chapters of our story.鈥澛�
Noble commented: 鈥淚 am delighted to join Chetwood Financial. Andy and the team have built a brilliant digital bank here, and the opportunity to now help drive the company forward was one that I simply had to grab with both hands.聽
鈥淭here are really exciting plans in place, and I can鈥檛 wait to play my part. The emphasis will remain on delivering exceptional products and service to all our customers, but we have ambitions to enter new markets and fast-track our growth in the future.鈥�