Former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson has returned to the province as non-executive director of a new clearing bank which said it is taking advantage of the access to Europe the region retains under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Bank of London, which claims to be the “world’s first purpose-built global clearing, agency and transaction bank”, has opened a centre of excellence focused on operations and other technology functions and is creating around 232 jobs in Belfast.
As a clearing bank it processes and approves payments, moves money around the world, manages cash and offers foreign exchange services.
Founder Anthony Watson said Belfast’s access to Europe was a key reason behind the bank’s decision to set up in the province.
“To build the future of finance, we need to be where the future is,” Mr Watson said. “Belfast is now the UK’s gateway city to the European Union, and this coupled with Belfast’s exceptional FinTech talent across multiple disciplines, makes it the logical choice for The Bank of London’s Centre of Excellence to power our UK expansion.”
The bank said 34 of the new jobs have already been filled with 54 roles currently advertised.
In total, the bank said it wanted to hire 98 people over the next three years which it said would generate £10 million in annual salaries for the local economy.
Lord Mandelson, who is Deputy Group Chairperson & Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, was previously Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1999 to 2001 under Tony Blair’s government and said he was glad to bring the bank to Belfast.
“During my time as Her Majesty’s Secretary of State of Northern Ireland I got to work with people from all faiths and backgrounds,” he said. “The people of Northern Ireland left an indelible impression on me, and I’m delighted that our firm has selected Belfast for its Centre of Excellence.”
The Bank of London was set up by Mr Watson, a former Chief Information Officers for Europe, Middle East and Global Operations at Barclays, in a direct challenge to the UK’s main banks which dominate the clearing markets.
