Edinburgh private bank Hampden & Co unveils high-level hires and exit

Hampden & Co, the Edinburgh-based private bank, has made two high-level appointments and announced the departure of one its founding executives as it continues to notch up growth in deposits and loans.

Peter Craigie has joined as the bank’s new chief risk officer from Lloyds Banking Group, while Gordon Syme comes on board as general counsel from Aegon Asset Management, where he was head of legal and regulatory (UK). The latest appointments follow hires in London and Edinburgh across 2022 and come as the bank expects the strong demand from clients, professional intermediaries and mortgage introducers to continue in 2023.

Craigie has spent more than three decades in the retail banking, insurance and building society sectors. He joined Lloyds Banking Group in 2012, where he held senior roles covering financial risk, business risk, customer proposition and customer strategy development. He replaces Alison Inverarity, who has retired from the chief risk officer role. She joined Hampden & Co in 2014 and was involved in setting up the bank, having previously been part of the senior team that established Scottish Widows Bank alongside Hampden’s chief executive 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.”

In August, the bank, which also has a London office, reported record results for the first half of 2022. Total income increased 47 per cent year-on-year, with deposits up 21 per cent to £731 million and loans and advances up 14 per cent to £434m. The bank benefitted from demand for its deposit, specialist mortgage and day-to-day banking services. It expects to announce its full-year 2022 results in April.

Hartop added: “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 was founded in 2010, opening for business in 2015 when it became the first new UK private bank launch in a quarter of a century.