A bank which aims to place the growth of regional communities at the heart of its lending policy is increasing the scale of its operations across the North of England.

GB Bank plans to lend around £3bn over the next five years to support the creation of more than 100,000 jobs and 20,000 homes and several million square feet of office space.

Rob Lankey has joined the Middlesbrough-based bank as its chief commercial officer after more than 30 years in the financial services sector as part of its growth plans.

A spokesman said: “Rob has worked in a wide range of organisations in the specialist lending and banking industry and has launched, built and grown a number of short and long-term lending businesses.

“He was one of the four start-up members of Aldermore Bank plc, held senior positions at Shawbrook Bank and Amicus Finance plc and was also the CEO of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB).

“Earlier in his career, at the age of 28, Rob was the youngest ever Executive Manager at the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society.”

He joins GB Bank from specialist property finance company Chordis Capital along with three members of his team; assistant relationship manager Jacqueline Prentice, relationship manager John Pointer and underwriter Jeveria Tazim.

The spokesman said: “As part of the move, Rob will be accelerating the bank’s entry into residential and commercial bridging loans as well as commercial and buy to let mortgages. These steps will enable GB Bank to support a variety of customers with services for property-related finance.”

Mr Lankey said: “GB Bank represents something really new in the financial services sector, a bank which is focused on lending to SME (small and medium-sized) developers and property investors throughout the property lifecycle, offering finance solutions and truly investing in helping to build local communities.

“Their ethos chimes in with so much of my thinking and experience in the industry so it’s the perfect match.

“I’m really looking forward to contributing to GB Bank’s growth as it embarks on ambitious plans to bring positive impact to communities in areas that need it most.”

The announcement is the latest in a number of new appointments at GB Bank. GB Bank has recently taken on an additional four members of staff: financial crime manager Graham Goodwin, head of enterprise risk Janie Robertshaw, credit risk manager Matt Smith and operational risk manager Patrick Keelty.

Stephen Lancaster, the chief executive of GB Bank, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Rob and his team to GB Bank.

"They bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience in property finance which will support our accelerated growth plans.

“We’re committed to regenerating communities across the UK and bringing jobs to the region is fundamental to this. With eight new appointments in three weeks, this really is the perfect start.”

GB Bank was granted a full banking licence in August. It will provide property development loans of between £500,000 and £5 million, with its lending supporting regional property developers, small and medium-sized businesses, and construction companies.

GB Bank announces senior appointment as it aims to help create 100,000 jobs