We talk to the founders of a new bank in the Channel Islands about its plans for meeting a series of needs, such as offshore trustees, funds and family offices.

Bank Aston, a new Guernsey-based bank for offshore trustees, investment funds and family offices, aims to be fully launched and able to take on client deposits by June 2026. 

The arrival of a new bank in the island will be a shot in the arm to a jurisdiction that saw a sharp decline in banks after the 2008 crash. 

The firm recently – as reported here – appointed banking professionals and Guernsey residents Claire Whittet and Roy McGregor as its first non-executive directors. When it was established in June, Bank Aston became Guernsey’s first locally licensed bank in a generation. It has been granted a banking licence with conditions from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. It’s an accomplishment that makes its founders proud. WealthBriefing recently spoke to Paul Gorman, CEO and founder, and co-founder James Bennett.

“We are a new bank for the Channel Islands. Banks have been leaving in consistent numbers since 2008,” Bennett said. Back then, there were about 43 banks; now there are 18 or 19.

“We’re going to be serving offshore trustees, investment funds and family offices. Money is more mobile than ever and – for various reasons, tax regimes included – they’re looking for better banking options across borders,” he continued. 

Gorman spelled out the bank’s business model – more B2B than business-to-client.

“While the bank will not be available to private clients directly, we are building the platform for the poorly served offshore institutional market,” he said. The model is to provide services built on the latest technology to make their banking more efficient which we can do safely and cost-effectively. Clients will pay fees for the service but given our efficiency those fees will likely be lower than they are today from existing providers.”

“We’ve all seen the reports of a wealth drain in the UK, and we know first-hand that British institutions and individuals are considering their options. Guernsey and the wider Channel Islands with their similar cultures, laws and regulations are attractive to them. Outside that, Asia and the Middle East have been huge markets for us, but there’s no specific region or country we’re targeting – wealth is mobile,” he said. 

The founders bring a mixture of experiences which they hope complement each other.

Gorman, who has been CEO since June, will be based in Guernsey. Since January 2023 and through to June this year, he was chief operating officer and director at Aston CM (Guernsey); and COO for Aston’s UK business from September 2021 to June this year. He was head of foreign exchange, international payments at Santander UK for almost six years. He has also had experience – more than 12 years – in corporate risk management for Barclays Capital. Before entering the financial sector, he was an air engineer officer in the Royal Navy. Turning to Bennett, he has a background in media and emerging markets, which includes being a managing director for Aston Wealth Management (UK and West Africa). 

Pain points and solutions
Asked about the kind of “pain points” that the bank exists to solve for, Bennett replied: “The availability of setting up local accounts in a speedy and cost-efficient manner.”

In a world of tight regulations, it is getting harder to open accounts [in Guernsey], he said. 

This speaks to a broader challenge seen across the wealth management and private banking sector. As this report shows, the industry has an onboarding “abandonment” problem that in some ways is caused by the length of time it takes – weeks and even months – to onboard clients. Tight anti-money laundering and know your client requirements are part of the reason for the delays.