Provident Financial plc (LON:PFG) has announced the next phase of its strategy to reinforce its position as a leading specialist bank with a focus on the financially underserved. With effect from today, PFG has restructured the Board of Vanquis Bank to substantially align its membership with the Board of PFG. This is an important step in the execution of the Group’s specialist bank strategy, which includes the wider use of retail deposit funding across the Group from H2’22. PFG believes that streamlining the Boards of the two legal entities in this way will create a simpler, more efficient Group governance structure, whilst streamlining and enhancing both PFG and Vanquis Bank’s handling of corporate governance.
As part of the new governance structure, and with effect from today, the following directors of PFG have each been appointed to the Board of Vanquis Bank, such that they now hold roles on the PFG and Vanquis Bank Boards, as well as to the relevant Board Committees of Vanquis Bank: Patrick Snowball (Chairman), Malcolm Le May1 (Chief Executive Officer), Neeraj Kapur1 (Chief Financial Officer), Andrea Blance (SID and Remuneration Committee Chair), Angela Knight (NED), Paul Hewitt (NED), Graham Lindsay (NED) and Margot James (NED). Elizabeth Chambers will retain her position on the PFG Board as an Independent Non-Executive.
Subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, Angela Knight will take on the role of Risk Committee Chair of Vanquis Bank and Paul Hewitt will take on the role of Audit Committee Chair of Vanquis Bank.
As a consequence of these changes, Robert East (Independent Non-Executive Director on PFG Board and Chairman of Vanquis Bank) will step down from the PFG Board and Vanquis Bank Board with effect from today. Each of the other existing Non-Executive Directors on the Vanquis Bank Board will step down from the Vanquis Bank Board with effect from today.
In addition, Neil Chandler (Managing Director) and Gary Thompson (Finance Director) of Vanquis Bank have decided to leave PFG. They will each step down from their roles as directors on the Vanquis Bank Board as of today’s date and will leave PFG on 31 March 2022 following a handover period.
Malcolm Le May, CEO of Provident Financial commented: “Neil Chandler and Gary Thompson successfully managed Vanquis Bank during the pandemic whilst also developing its loan proposition, a key strategic objective, and have guided the division back to receivables growth. I thank them for their dedication and wish them the best for their future endeavours.”
Patrick Snowball, Chairman of Provident Financial commented: “I would like to thank Robert for his Chairmanship of the Vanquis Board and his support and thoughtful contributions as a member of the Group Board. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the other departing members of the Vanquis Bank Board for their help and support.”
Other than the resignation referred to above, the Board of PFG remains unchanged.
