The Wrexham-based financial provider secured the banking licence from the PRA and the FCA, adding to existing authorisation for its lending business secured early last year.

Chetwood plans to launch its first consumer finance product in Q1 2018 – an innovative unsecured loan – and will continue to develop and test its first savings products during its mobilisation period.

The unsecured loan product LiveLend will look to support those who are not best served by current offerings and Chetwood hopes that its low operating costs will allow it to pass on savings to its customers.

The financial provider will operate on cloud-based technology platform Yobota, which can house a range of standalone products, from lending to savings.

Chetwood and Yobota were founded by ex-HSBC banker Andy Mielczarek (pictured above) and technology strategist Mark Jenkinson in 2016.

Chetwood has since recruited a board of directors featuring a number of experienced UK financial professionals, including LV= chairman Alan Cook.

“Our starting point is a desire to do a better job for customers who aren't being best served by existing financial providers,” said Andy.

“We are not yet another 'challenger bank' and we don't plan to offer full-service banking to everyone.

“Instead, our focus is on creating standalone products that offer a better deal and experience for specific groups of customers, who we believe we can make better off.

“The support from Elliott and receipt of regulatory permissions is a huge vote of confidence in our new model for financial services and our future plans.”

Amit Sharma, portfolio manager at Elliott, added: “In an environment where there are numerous management teams seeking investment for bank start-ups, Chetwood stands out given the strength and experience of the management team, a business plan focused on asset accumulation and its credible market proposition.”