The bank said that it was starting 2023 in a very strong position, with an exceptional team.

UK private bank, Hampden & Co, has made two C-suite appointments: Peter Craigie as chief risk officer, and Gordon Syme, who has joined the firm’s executive management team as general counsel.

The latest appointments, which follow hires in London and Edinburgh in 2022, come on the back of strong demand from clients, professional intermediaries, and mortgage introducers – a trend which the bank expects to continue into 2023.

Craigie was previously at Lloyds Banking Group, where he was chief risk officer for Islands Banking. He has spent over three decades in the retail banking, insurance, and building society sectors. His experience covers market and operational risk, treasury and finance, and business development. After 20 years in the building society and banking sectors, he joined Lloyds Banking Group in 2012, serving in senior roles covering financial risk, business risk, customer proposition, and customer strategy development.

Craigie is replacing Alison Inverarity, who has retired from the chief risk officer role. Inverarity, who joined Hampden & Co in 2014, was involved in setting up the bank. Previously, she had been part of the senior team that established Scottish Widows Bank alongside Hampden’s CEO Graeme Hartop.

Hartop said: “Alison made a significant contribution to Hampden & Co through the years and we thank her for the success and value she brought to the bank. We are pleased to bring in someone of Peter’s calibre and experience to take up the leadership of our risk and compliance responsibilities.”

Craigie said: “Hampden & Co is a fast-growing player in UK private banking, with a high-quality management team. Strong risk management is vital to the bank’s continued growth and development. I look forward to working with Graeme and the Hampden & Co team to build on the bank’s excellent credentials and reputation.”

Syme, who has also joined Hampden & Co’s executive management team as general counsel, is responsible for providing legal advice and guidance to the board and the management team.

Syme was previously at Dutch-owned investment company Aegon Asset Management. As head of Legal & Regulatory (UK), he was responsible for all UK legal, regulatory and company secretarial matters. Syme has also worked at Standard Life and Dundas & Wilson (now part of CMS).

Hartop added: “Gordon has a strong record in legal advisory and leadership roles, including at two of the UK’s biggest financial services groups, and we’re extremely pleased to get him on board at the bank.”

In conclusion, Hartop said: “We start 2023 in a very strong position, with an exceptional team, and firmly expect the growth we saw in 2022 to continue in 2023 as clients value our personalised approach to serving their banking needs.”

Hampden & Co, which has offices in London and Edinburgh, reported record results for the first half of 2022. The bank is continuing to record growth in deposits and loans across the UK and expects to announce full-year 2022 results in April this year.