City of London Group (COLG) has added an independent non-executive director to the board of its SME business Recognise.

Louise McCarthy has joined as an independent non-executive director, joining fellow non-executive directors Richard Gabbertas and Simon Wainwright.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Recognise, a subsidiary of the City of London Group, will offer financial services to the UK SME sector and the retail and business deposits market.

Recognise is in the process of obtaining its banking license, said COLG.

McCarthy started her career in finance and is a qualified ACCA. In the intervening years she has worked as a chief operations officer and chief information officer for a number of major organisations driving through large scale IT change programmes, said COLG.

McCarthy has over 35 years’ experience in large private and public sector businesses, including transformation director at EBRD, Aviva, HMRC, HSBC and Virgin Media. She is currently a chief financial officer at Arachnys.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

COLG said she had a proven ability to deliver significant results in a variety of challenging environments including driving value into businesses, major cost reductions, and transformational exercises.

Michael Goldstein, chief executive officer at City of London Group said: “We are very pleased to have Louise as an INED for Recognise. Her ability to transform, grow and align organisations is exactly what Recognise needs as we embark on the next stage of our journey to become an SME bank. Louise’s breadth and depth of experience shows her ability to see the wider picture and achieve commercial creativity.’’

Louise McCarthy said: “In order for Recognise to deliver its strategy of high quality, relationship-driven SME banking, it is important to have the right technology and systems in place. I have been very impressed with the management team and their commitment to drive real innovation, and I look forward to working with them.”

In March, COLG raised over £15m to support the launch of Recognise.

In February 2018, Leasing Life reported that COLG would launch and offer leasing products as part of its proposed lending business, which will be led by former Metro director Jason Oakley.

COLG applied for its banking licence in December 2017 and said the application is in process.