PCF retail deposits surpass £100m mark

Specialist bank PCF announced on Monday that the total value of deposits it has accepted from retail customers has surpassed the £100m mark.

The AIM-traded company said the milestone was reached in a relatively short time, and sooner than previously anticipated, as PCF Bank only began accepting retail deposits at the end of July last year.

During the period since then, some 2,500 new retail customers had joined PCF.

The company said its service was based on an internet-based software platform which allowed customers to on-board to PCF securely and quickly, typically in less than 10 minutes.

PCF's savings portfolio included a range of maturities up to seven years, and had an average account balance outstanding of approximately £45,000.

The company said the growing amount of retail deposits allowed it to continue to replace more expensive wholesale bank debt, supporting its growth strategy and allowing it to scale the lending portfolio more rapidly.

It also provided greater flexibility of funding and a reduced cost of funds, which allowed it to compete in the much larger prime segment of the market, and facilitated the launch of new products and diversification of asset classes.

The group said its strategy was to grow the lending portfolio to £350m by September 2020, and £750m by 2022.

PCF announced last month that the lending portfolio had grown to £172m already.

“This is a remarkable achievement, from a standing start in July last year,” said finance director David Bull.

“Our proposition is 'simple banking; at your service', and delivering against this statement is clearly resonating with our customer base.

“We look forward to further success with this growing element of our business.”