Shawbrook Bank set to appoint Iain Cornish as chairman

Shawbrook Bank is to appoint Iain Cornish, one of the key independent figures probing the collapse of HBOS, as chairman following the departure of Sir George Mathewson.

The appointment of Mr Cornish, who previously sat on the board of the Prudential Regulation Authority, is expected to be revealed this week by the specialist lender, according to people familiar with the situation.

Mr Cornish will assume the role from Sir George, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland before Fred Goodwin, who had planned to step down after the bank listed on the market at the start of April.

However, Mr Cornish had to relinquish his position on the PRA board last month in order to assume chairmanship of Shawbrook and to avoid conflicts of interest.

Mr Cornish will continue his role as an independent reviewer of the report being compiled by the watchdog into the collapse of HBOS, the people said. The publication date of the report, which has been long-delayed, has not yet been finalised.

In addition, he is taking on the role of senior independent director of Arrow Global, the debt collection company, occupying a position also held by Sir George, who will step down in June at the group's annual meeting.

Sir George was chairman of Arrow for five years from 2009, and oversaw the group through its stock market listing in October 2013.

Shawbrook is one of a number of specialist lenders that has recently listed on the London stock market.

The bank floated only two weeks after rival lender Aldermore came to market, which saw investor demand push the shares up by 10 per cent within half an hour of trading.

Shares in Shawbrook were priced at 290p towards the upper end of the range, valuing the bank at £725m.

Shawbrook is majority owned by Pollen Street Capital, a private equity fund in which RBS previously invested. Following the bank's flotation, the fund will retain its 59 per cent stake subject to a 180 day lock-up period.

Last year, the bank grew its loan book by £900m to £2.3bn, helping to generate underlying profits before tax of £49.1m.

The Essex-based lender is also considering a modest maiden dividend in respect of 2016, which it plans to grow to 30 per cent of post-tax profits the following year.

Shawbrook declined to comment.

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