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About PCF Bank

PCF Bank was established in 1994 to bring two qualities into motor vehicle, SME asset finance and property finance: simplicity and customer focus

We are a specialist in these areas and have helped over 100,000 consumers and businesses by providing them with hire purchase, finance lease and mortgage facilities. Now, we are applying the same qualities with which we made our reputation to the wider world of banking.

Simple banking at your service

In December 2016, we were authorised as a bank. This is supported by more than 25 years of solid growth, both organic and through acquisition. With a finance portfolio of over £350 million, and 20,000 customers, you can rest assured that our professional and personable service has been thoroughly tested.

We offer not only the services on which PCF Bank was built, but an equally competitive range of savings products for our customers. Developing into a bank has made us more competitive and flexible, allowing us to better serve our existing customers, who can benefit from our simple, personal, approach to finance.

Independent and innovative

At PCF Bank, simplicity is more than just a buzzword – It is a tangible benefit that we seek to deliver. One of the ways in which we achieve this is through our independence. It enables us to have short lines of communication, so that we can make quick decisions.

Experts you can rely on

We think that customer focus is easy to define: employing the best people, to deliver the best service, for each of our customers on an individual basis. Like everyone who works at PCF Bank, their main objective is to offer a service that is professional and personal, forging lasting relationships with our customers that benefit everyone involved.

Our People

Board and Executive Directors

Executive Committee

Simon Moore

Independent non-executive Director - Chair

Simon has over thirty years’ experience of the banking industry, primarily with Chase Manhattan, in London and New York, and Barclays where he was the regional director for the corporate banking activities in Wales and the South West of England. Simon has been a director of Cambridge and Counties Bank since its foundation in 2012 and chairman since 2015. He is also chairman of RCI Bank UK, the UK arm of the French bank RCI Groupe, part of the Renault Group. He served as the International Director of the Confederation of British Industry and latterly as director for London and the South of England. He was a member of the CBI Management Board. Outside banking and industry, Simon has served as a governor of the University of the West of England and is now a trustee of the Wallscourt Foundation, which acts to promote the student experience and teaching objectives of the university. In addition, Simon is a lay member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Recruitment and Employers Confederation and a former non-executive director of the Government Office of the South West.

Mark Sismey-Durrant

Independent non-executive Director - Senior Independent Director

Mark’s banking career spans over forty years starting at Midland Bank. He went on to become CEO of three fast growing and profitable specialist challenger banks – Sun Bank Plc, Heritable Bank Plc and most recently, Hampshire Trust Bank Plc. Mark is currently Chair of Cashplus Bank, a fintech business, where he has also been Chair of Audit and Remuneration Committees and serves on the Risk Committee. He is also Chair of a small Swedish SME finance Group. He is current Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board at the Loughborough University School of Business and Economics, where he also served for nine years on Council, Chaired the Audit Committee, was elected Alumni President and was appointed Pro-Chancellor. He is a former Chair of the Specialist Banks Advisory Board at UK Finance and served on the Board of both the BBA and UK Finance (chairing its Audit Committee). Mark holds a B.Sc Honours degree in Banking and Finance and M Phil, both from Loughborough University, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and a Fellow of the RSA. He is a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers. Mark is the Chair of the Board Risk Committee.

Christine Higgins

Independent non-executive Director

Christine is a chartered accountant with over 25 years' experience in asset finance, for UK and international banks. Over the last 9 years, she has served as non-executive director on a number of boards in the health, housing, leisure and finance sectors, including as chair of the audit committee. She is currently a non-executive director of Buckinghamshire Building Society and chairs its audit committee. Christine is the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

David Morgan

Non-executive Director

David has over 35 years' experience in international banking, building his career at Standard Chartered Bank in Europe and the Far East. Since leaving Standard Chartered in 2003, he has been involved in a range of business advisory and non-executive roles. He is currently a non-executive director of Somers Limited, Bermuda Commercial Bank Limited and Waverton Investment Management Limited. He is also Chairman of Harlequin FC, the Premiership rugby club. David is a member of the Audit & Risk Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Mark Brown

Non-executive Director

Mark was Chairman of Stockdale Securities from November 2014 until it was bought by Shore Capital in April 2019. He was previously Chief Executive of Collins Stewart Hawkpoint and brings a wealth of experience and leadership in both small and large financial services business. Having worked as Global Head of Research for ABN AMRO and HSBC and as Chief Executive of ABN’s UK equities business, Mark led the successful turnaround of Arbuthnot Securities followed by Collins Stewart Hawkpoint. Mark is a member of the Nomination Committee and the Interim Chair of Remuneration Committee.

Garry Stran

Chief Executive Officer

Garry is a financial services professional having had a variety of roles in listed, owner managed, state and private equity controlled businesses. He has extensive experience across financial services with a focus on credit risk management, operation transformation and M&A. Garry’s early career was with Nationwide Building Society where he was a senior executive and a member of Retail Credit Committee. Since then he has worked extensively in private equity as both a founder, CEO, NED and Chairman. Garry was a non-executive director of Computershare Loan Services Ltd for six years including chairing the Audit and Compliance Committee for part of that time. He has joined us from a leading fintech lender where he played a key role in supporting their rapid growth plans. Garry is a Member of the Institute of Credit Management (MICM) and holds the Finance and Leasing Diploma.

Caroline Richardson

Chief Financial Officer

Caroline has significant experience as a finance director, most recently as Chief Financial Officer and Board Member at White Oak UK, where she was responsible for finance and treasury and helped develop their response to the pandemic. Additionally, Caroline has a strong knowledge and understanding of PCF’s reporting requirements both as a listed entity and bank, having previously served as Group Finance and Transformation Director at Arrow Global PLC and led the Co-operative Bank’s financial reporting for two years as Chief Accounting Officer. Whilst at the Co-Operative Bank, she was one of their key contacts with the PRA. Caroline has more than 25 years’ experience in finance and banking, including twelve years at Deutsche Bank, latterly as UK Finance Director, working within the UK regulatory environment. Caroline qualified as an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and has a First-Class Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Hull.

Chris Bowyer

Chief Operating Officer

Chris has over 35 years of Banking and Financial Services experience. Chris has held senior roles in retail banking including at Permanent TSB, Allied Irish Bank and the Co-operative Bank and in Financial Services organisations focussed on operations, including at Bluestone Mortgages, Cabot Financial and Allied International. Chris has a breadth of experience across Operations, IT and Transformational Change with a deep knowledge of loan origination and servicing, arrears management, quality assurance and debt purchase/sale. Chris joined the Group as Head of Operational Excellence in early 2021 and was appointed Chief Operating Officer on 1 September 2022 on an interim basis pending full formal regulatory approval.

Andrew Barber

Chief Technology Officer

Andrew joined PCF Group in June 2002 and is responsible for developing and managing the IT and cyber strategy within the Group. Andrew oversees the management of systems, operational resilience and third-party vendor management. As a PRINCE2 Registered Practitioner, Andrew is instrumental in ensuring change is managed successfully within the Group. Andrew is a member of the Smaller Banks Operations & IT Forum (SBOITF) and is one of the founding members of the recently established Specialist Bank Security Forum (SBSF).

Jason McCabe

Chief Risk Officer

Jason joined PCF Group in October 2016 and is responsible for the chief risk, compliance oversight and money laundering reporting senior management functions. He has over 15 years’ experience in risk management and compliance and joined from Royal Bank of Canada, where he spent 8 years in various senior roles, including the Global Head of Operational Risk for Treasury Market Services and the Chief Risk Officer for RBC Investor Services UK.

Duncan McDonald

General Counsel

Duncan is a solicitor who has accumulated considerable experience as a corporate commercial lawyer over the years having undertaken a wide range of M&A and general company commercial work for national and international financial sponsors, corporates and individuals. Over that time this has been undertaken both in private practice as a partner at Pinsent Masons, Olswang and Taylor Wessing and in-house as general counsel at Credit Suisse (in the 1990's), Citigroup Capital UK (in the mid 2000's) and recently as part of Taylor Wessing's general counsel team.

Stephen Butterworth

Chief of Staff

Stephen's main role is to support the CEO and assist the chief executive office with prioritising and project managing tasks and projects, to ensure successful implementation and delivery. Within such role he has responsibility and oversight of the Group's HR and Talent functions. Stephen has over 30 years’ experience in financial services with specific expertise in credit management, leading and executing change. He was Operations Director and Executive Board Director of private equity backed credit management businesses for 13 years and prior to that was a member of the senior team in Collections and Recoveries at Nationwide Building Society

Corporate Governance and the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors consists of 4 independent non-executive directors, 2 non-executive directors and 2 executive directors and is chaired by Simon Moore, an independent non-executive director. The Nominations Committee considered the appropriateness of the Board’s composition during the year and concluded that it has the appropriate mix of skills and experience to fulfil its responsibilities. The Board operating as a broader Board Committee also includes other executive directors and senior management as standing members, The Board and its Committee meets no less than 9 times a year and its primary responsibility is to provide leadership to the Group, set the Group’s strategic objectives and to develop robust corporate governance and risk management practices. The Board delegates specific powers to other committees, details of which are set out below.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (ExCo) consists of 2 executive directors and the senior management of the Group with functional responsibilities. It is chaired by Garry Stran and meets monthly to deliberate and take policy decisions on the effective and efficient management of the Group. It also serves as a processing forum for issues to be discussed at the Board level. ExCo’s primary responsibility is to ensure the implementation of strategies approved by the Board, provide leadership to the management team and ensure efficient deployment of the Groups resources, including capital and liquidity.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee (AC) consists of 3 non-executive directors and is chaired by Christine Higgins, an independent non-executive director. AC meets no less than 4 times a year and is primarily responsible for monitoring the integrity of the Group’s financial statements, the effectiveness of the internal audit function and external auditor, and the effectiveness of the financial controls and the control environment.

Risk Committee

The Risk Committee (BRC) consists of 5 non-executive directors and is chaired by Mark Sismey-Durrant, an independent non-executive director on an interim basis. BRC meets no less than 4 times a year and is primarily responsible for monitoring the integrity of the risk management framework, the defining and monitoring of risk appetite and the effectiveness of risk management systems.

Nomination Committee

The Nomination Committee has delegated responsibility from the Board for reviewing the structure, size and composition of the Board. Membership of the Nomination Committee is limited to non-executive directors and chaired by Simon Moore. 

Remuneration Committee

The Remuneration Committee is chaired, on an interim basis by Mark Brown, and has delegated responsibility from the Board for the performance of the executive directors, succession planning and remuneration of the directors and other senior executives. Membership of the Remuneration Committee is limited to non-executive directors. Where appropriate, the Remuneration Committee consults external advisers on remuneration and regulatory issues to align with the strategic aims of the Group and regulatory compliance requirements. 

Remuneration Policy and Disclosures

The approach taken by PCF Group plc (“Group” or “PCF”) in respect of remunerating its staff emanates from a combination of regulatory guidance and in particular the dual-regulated firm’s Remuneration Code SYSC 19D, as appropriate for Level 3 firms, and the rules on remuneration as published by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Due to the size of our business, the Group applies the dual-regulated firm’s remuneration principles proportionality rule, SYSC 19D.3.3R (2), to ensure the practices and processes we promote are appropriate to our size, internal organisation, and the nature, scope, and complexity of activities. In applying PRA and FCA guidance, PCF classifies its employees as either Code or Non-Code Staff. Code Staff are comprised of Executive and Non-Executive Directors, and other Code Staff which includes Senior Managers covered by the Senior Managers Regime. No staff have been classified as Material Risk Takers. Other key individuals are covered under the scope of the Conduct Regime. Information on the Group’s Remuneration Code is set out in its Pillar 3 Remuneration Disclosures in the Financials subsection of the Investors section of our website www.pcf.bank in March 2019.