Richard Lees joins RateSetter board
Metro Bank’s chief risk officer Richard Lees has been appointed to the RateSetter board.
It follows the departure of David Arden, chief financial officer at Metro Bank, from the RateSetter board last month.
Marc Jenkins, Metro Bank’s deputy chief financial officer, assumed responsibility for Arden’s role on 15 February and he will remain in the position while the bank recruits for Arden’s replacement.
Peer2Peer Finance News reported last month that Jenkins would not be taking over Arden’s seat on the RateSetter board.
Lees will join the six remaining members of the RateSetter board: Daniel Frumkin, chief executive of Metro Bank, RateSetter co-founders Rhydian Lewis and Peter Behrens, RateSetter’s chief financial officer Harry Russell, non-executive chairman Martyn Scrivens, and non-executive director Anne Grim.
RateSetter was an independent peer-to-peer lending platform until late 2020, when it was bought by Metro Bank in a deal worth up to £12m.
Since then, RateSetter loans have begun to be offered in Metro Bank branches, and the bank has significantly increased the number of consumer loans on its book.
According to Metro Bank’s latest financial statements, consumer lending increased to seven per cent of the total loan book in 2021 year – up from two per cent a year earlier.
“At the end of the period, RateSetter has established itself as a leading provider of consumer credit in the open market,” said Frumkin at the time.
Read more: RateSetter loans boost Metro Bank balance sheet