Former British chancellor Philip Hammond just scored his second job since quitting national politics last year. He will be joining British business bank OakNorth as an adviser. The organisation lends to small businesses and operates a technology platform that helps lenders make decisions, which it has licensed to banks worldwide.
It is funded by A-list investors including the Japanese SoftBank Vision Fund, which in turn is backed by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund. OakNorth was valued at $2.8 billion at the time of its last fundraising. Founded by British entrepreneur Rishi Khosla, the bank gained regulatory approval five years ago and unlike several fintech startups it is profitable, and made £34m in 2018. Also accumulating $17 billion in assets.
Other members of OakNorth’s advisory board include the Tory grandee Francis Maude, the former CBI director general Adair Turner and the former Bank of England director Martin Stewart.
In a statement, the bank said, “As an adviser, Hammond will bring his passion for small and medium-size businesses, financial expertise and global perspective to the business as it continues to expand internationally.”
Meanwhile, Hammond said, “Small and medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of the British economy and communities globally. The development by OakNorth of a platform to deliver cost-effective lending to them is a major boost to the potential of not only the British economy but economies worldwide.”
Hammond was expelled from the Conservative party last September after voting to prevent Boris Johnson from taking Britain out of the EU without a deal, and he quit as an MP before last month’s general election. A week after stepping down, he was named as a non-executive director of the Irish metal and glass packaging firm Ardagh. Prior to becoming an MP in 1997, Hammond had a series of business ventures ranging from a medical devices company to a building business that specialised in homes and doctors’ surgeries.
