Last month marked three years since Capital International Bank first opened its doors on the Isle of Man. Here, managing director Werner Alberts details the team’s journey so far...
It’s hard to believe that three years have passed since Capital International Bank was first launched back in 2021.
Building a bank from scratch was no mean feat, in fact it took over 4 years and more than £14m of investment to develop.
Capital International Bank was also the first ever bank to be awarded a Class 1(2) banking licence by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, which permits the bank to offer services to corporate, trust and high net worth individual clients.
There were of course many challenges to overcome along the way, including the execution of the critical build phase whilst navigating a global pandemic.
Capital International Bank weathered all the storms and has since grown to become a successful business providing services to both domestic and international clients.
The bank now caters to all types of companies and industries, from smaller locally managed businesses all the way through to large international companies.
This is done with a focus on providing reliable banking services, combining digital flexibility with a personal, client-led service.
Prior to the launch, the bank received a grant from the Department for Enterprise to assist in the building of the bank.
The grant was based on an estimated 49 new jobs contributing around £1.8m of employment tax and National Insurance revenue for the Government during the first three years alone.
When the bank first launched, we knew there was a long road ahead, but from our research, it was clear that the need for a new, digital corporate bank was strong, with Capital International Bank providing a much-needed solution to industries such as eGaming, Yachting, Aviation, Financial Services and Fiduciaries, who are experiencing varying degrees of risk appetite and service from traditional banks.
To this day, we still hear stories of companies applying for an account then waiting months only to be told that their account cannot be opened.
In many cases, these are perfectly good businesses, but may not fit within the appetite of many banks.
As a result, many local businesses are sometimes forced to deal with foreign Electronic Money Institutions or ‘aggregators’ with no banking licence, putting their business or underlying clients at risk.
Capital International Bank’s goal was to remedy this.
Clients wait just a few days to find out whether they are eligible for an account saving them months of delays. We assess every application on a case-by-case basis, working to understand the specific risk, whether we can manage the risk and whether we can provide a service on financial terms that work for the client and for the bank. We are mindful that no business can function without a bank account and hence we do our utmost to provide the essential service of banking to corporate clients.
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Capital International Bank’s client interface is modern and intuitive, which we are told is a refreshing change compared with other corporate banking solutions available.
Although we are a digital bank, we recognise that our clients and our staff are all humans, hence our slogan: ‘A digital bank with a human touch.’
How far the bank has come in such a short amount of time is truly remarkable; however, what I am most proud of is the fact that Capital International Bank became a profitable business within 27 months after its official launch on 1 June 2021.
It is a remarkable achievement for a new digital bank to become profitable within 3 years. To put this into perspective, other start-up digital banks and fintechs have taken over 5+ years to report annual profitability.
Innovation is one of the core values of the bank and of the Capital International Group.
Our unique fiduciary banking products provide competitive rates of interest to our clients, whilst diversifying their risk across highly rated large banks.
With our fiduciary deposit products, clients avoid having to open bank accounts directly with our panel of well-known fiduciary banks and can view their balances seamlessly via our online banking platform.
Remarkably for a small bank, our total client deposit base across all our products exceeded £500m for the first time in April this year.
Having seen what it is possible to achieve in just three years, I am incredibly excited for what lies ahead for Capital International Bank.
Expanding our product features over the next 12 months is high up on our agenda.
Based on feedback from our clients, “banking on the move” is a key requirement for many international corporate clients.
We are aiming to launch a new corporate mobile banking app before the end of the year.
The app will allow clients to view balances, load and authorise payments on-the-go via their mobile phones.
Shortly thereafter, a new online banking platform will be released that will render on almost any tablet, laptop and desktop device regardless of the browser being used.
The new platform will allow the bank to add new product features requested by our clients, such as bulk and scheduled payments.
Although the Isle of Man is our home jurisdiction, Capital International Bank serves clients in other jurisdictions such as Gibraltar, Guernsey and Jersey. Last year, the bank obtained a representative office licence from the South African Prudential Authority, which enables the bank to market its service to South African clients with offshore banking needs.
Finally, the bank is part of Capital International Group’s Conscious Captial program, where we are driving a variety of environmental, social and governance initiatives. We are continuing our commitment to plant 2 trees for every new bank account opened as well as supporting local charities.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the government, our clients, our shareholders, our employees and business partners for their support so far.
We look forward to what the next three years and beyond have in store.
All large banks were once small banks and we certainly have big dreams for Capital International Bank.
We welcome any prospective client that may seek corporate, trust or high net worth banking to reach out to our Business Development team.