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Bank Aston, Guernsey
Senior financial industry figures, including a former director at the Bank of England, are at the helm of a newly-minted offshore bank in Guernsey, Bank Aston. The organisation has secured authorisation from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

The move makes Bank Aston Guernsey’s first locally-licensed bank for almost 30 years, it said in a statement yesterday. The licence is subject to conditions during Bank Aston’s launch phase.

Bank Aston will serve offshore trustees, investment funds and family offices. Having obtained its licence, Bank Aston will now move into the build phase of the bank, intending to launch in 2026. It will then begin accepting deposits from institutional clients while rolling out its full product offer.

The co-founders are James Bennett and Jay Goss. Kevin Brown has been appointed as chairman and Paul Gorman is CEO.

“Banking is becoming a huge problem for offshore institutions. They face increasingly slow approvals, poor customer services and eye-watering fees with decisions being taken remotely by legacy banks whose risk appetite is steadily declining,” Bennett said. “This has resulted in more and more institutions being forced onshore which increases inefficiency, adds unnecessary risk and takes revenue away from the islands.”

Bennett, who is chief executive of Aston Currency Management in Guernsey and the UK, has worked in wealth management after starting his career in financial media. Along with Goss, he built a wealth management firm in Switzerland. Some 13 years ago they bought a UK payments company. Goss, meanwhile, is chief commercial officer of Aston Currency Management. Prior to the business world, he served in the Royal Marines.

Bown is a career banker with more than 40 years' experience. Besides his new chairmanship role, he continues to serve as a member of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator in Regulatory Decisions and Enforcements. Brown recently stepped down as a senior independent director and risk committee member at the Bank of England. Before this, he was chair of audit, risk and governance for a UK telecoms regulator; he was also a global advisor to KPMG on payment matters working in Europe, Australia, US and Canada; and he was chairman of a Luxembourg-based fund management Company. 

Gorman was formerly chief operating officer at Aston Currency Management, having joined in 2021 with more than 20 years in financial services already under his belt, mainly in banks. Slightly over two years ago, he set up Aston CM (Guernsey) Ltd, Guernsey’s first payments company that can provide offshore-domiciled accounts. 

From 2013 to 2020, Gorman was head of foreign exchange, international payments and international cash management for Santander UK, and before that he was in corporate risk management at Barclays Capital. Before his banking career, he was an air engineering officer in the Royal Navy. He is a CFA charterholder. 

Jay Goss said the new bank serves an urgent need: “Few people realise the seriousness of the situation. The difficulties with onboarding and running accounts is starting to impact the whole industry. But there is an opportunity as well. We see Bank Aston as a commitment to Guernsey’s future and to ensuring the island remains relevant, resilient and ambitious on the global financial map.”

“The offshore market is huge. In the Channel Islands alone, there is over £800 billion of assets under management and another £250 billion in bank deposits. There are also thousands of investment funds and hundreds of family offices. We believe with our new approach we can make a huge difference and actively help the whole offshore sector,” Gorman added.