Challenger bank Shawbrook hires Iain Cornish as chairman

CHALLENGER bank Shawbrook has appointed the former chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society as its chairman.
Iain CornishIain Cornish
Iain Cornish

Robin Ashton, senior independent director at Shawbrook, said: “We are delighted that Iain is joining the board as chairman, as he brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge.

“We look forward to his contribution as Shawbrook continues its journey as a public company.

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“We would also like to publicly acknowledge Sir George’s contribution to the founding and growth of Shawbrook over the past four years.”

Mr Cornish resigned from Yorkshire Building Society in 2011 after guiding the Bradford-based mutual through the financial crisis.

He became a founding member of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority and earned glowing praise from Governor Mark Carney when he stood down three months ago.

Mr Cornish said: “I am honoured to become chairman of Shawbrook and to be joining the company following its successful IPO and at such an exciting stage in its development.”

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Shawbrook made its stock market debut in April with a market capitalisation of £725m.

Mr Cornish told The Yorkshire Post: “The market is as good an opportunity as it ever has been for challenger banks.

“Mainstream banks to some extent are still repairing their balance sheets and have damaged their franchises with the public with some of the things they have done.”

He is currently a senior independent director of Arrow Global Group and of St James’s Place.

Mr Cornish has also been involved with the City watchdog’s long-running report into the collapse of Halifax Bank of Scotland as an independent reviewer.