New UK Farmers’ Bank Gets License, Funding

A new British bank that will launch later in 2020 is aimed at securing funding for farmers, according to a report.

Oxbury, based in Chester, is going to offer specific products for British farmers, as well as savings accounts for the general public and businesses. The bank secured its license from the  Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The new bank wants to be the go-to institution for farmers who need banking services. The bank will also lend money according to farming cash flow needs, which change depending on the season. The new bank is especially important because there is a perception about potential lost funding due to Brexit and less money coming in from the EU.

Oxbury said it’s going to focus on sustainable farming, and its launch is on the heels of a report from the RSA Food, Farming & Countryside Commission saying that a specific bank for farmers was badly needed.

It was founded by James Farrar, who set up ClearBank in 2015, as well as Nick Evans, who started an agricultural tech company called Adaptris.

Former Bank of England advisor Tim Fitzpatrick is on the bank’s board, as well as Huw Morgan, who was once an executive at HSBC.

“This is an important milestone in bringing to market the only UK based bank that has its thinking, expertise and empathy exclusively focussed on the agricultural market and the needs of British farmers,” said Farrar.

Evans added that the bank will work within the agricultural community that already exists.

“Oxbury is a new specialist bank founded by the agricultural sector for the sector and is designed to work in partnership with long-established agribusinesses that farmers know and trust,” Evans said. “This trust is essential at a time of great change and opportunity in British agriculture that is being embraced by forward thinking farmers to secure the prosperity of British farms in a sustainable way.”