Mambu powers new challenger bank GBB to help get Britain building
GBB, a new British bank focused on property and development finance, has chosen SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu to power its ground-breaking digital offering.
Founded to get Britain building, GBB will be a dedicated lender to SME property developers in the most underserved regions of the UK.
Currently only around 245,000 of the government’s annual 300,000 house building target is being met. Mambu’s cloud-native platform will make it quicker and easier for GBB to respond to market changes while delivering banking products and excellent customer experiences, driving long-term growth and profitability.
Mambu has been working with GBB for three years, responding to a brief to innovate and iterate as it grows.
GBB is on a mission to support the recovery of Britain’s construction sector by providing property development loans of between £1 million and £5 million to regional property developers, SMEs, and construction companies across the North East, Yorkshire and North West.
GBB expects to receive its banking licence later this year and will offer bespoke development financing, an area of commercial lending underserved by the incumbent banks.
Its state-of-the-art proprietary tech platform enables full end-to-end delivery of property development lending and includes a dynamic risk ratings tool.
GBB opted to compose its own architecture with Mambu’s SaaS banking platform, as opposed to a more traditional ‘bank-in-a-box’ approach. This ensures the flexibility to swap out components as required, avoiding vendor lock-in and wholesale re-platforming.
Mambu enables GBB to develop and launch bespoke lending products using an easy-to-configure platform, which benefits from continuous upgrades.
Stephen Lancaster, chief information officer of GBB commented, “One in three property developers in the UK is denied financing. Many avoid applying for loans altogether, fearing rejection. Traditionally, SMEs have been the most underserved group as existing banks and lenders tend to prioritise higher loan values. Our mission is to turn things around, and we can only do that by leveraging today’s best-in-class cloud technology.
“We partnered with Mambu because, like us, they are customer-obsessed and understand technology’s role in providing customers with a better experience. The team understands our market really well and have supported us in our journey to becoming a bank every step of the way.”
“Unlike most challenger banks, GBB recognises the potential of Northern England. This part of the UK has been underserved for decades, and GBB’s model is vital to its development,” added Elliott Limb, chief customer officer at Mambu. “We have a strong partnership with GBB and are looking forward to supporting them in bringing financial access to the property developers and SMEs in the regions.”
GBB aims to lend £3bn over five years, building a £1bn plus balance sheet. It will fund almost 20,000 homes and several million square feet of office space, supporting the creation of over 100,000 jobs. For savers, competitive fixed rates will be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
