Digital bank OakNorth posted a pre-tax profit of £187.3m for 2023 as it expands its footprint in the US.
The London-based challenger bank’s pre-tax profit was up by almost a quarter (23%) from 2022, according to its latest financial report.
The total comprehensive income for the year posted by the bank was £140.7m.
The SME-loan provider said it provided over £1.7bn of new lending facilities last year, around 10% of which went to US businesses. OakNorth started lending in the North American market in the latter half of 2023.
Looking to build on its position in the States, OakNorth has applied for a US representative office and is exploring acquisition options for American firms.
“Despite numerous ongoing economic challenges, this has been another strong year for OakNorth, showing consistent profitability and high growth,” said Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth.
“In the year ahead, we’ll maintain our firm commitment to supporting ambitious scaling businesses, whose contribution to growth is more important than ever in the current macroeconomic climate.”
In December last year, OakNorth appointed former UK financial regulation chief Lord Adair Turner as its chairman.
Lord Turner was also previously vice chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe and board director of Standard Chartered.