Nicola was previously head of operations at Allica Bank during its start-up phase, and was most recently COO at digital sharia bank, Nomo.
She will oversee the creation of Afin’s customer service and operations, in addition to building the people function for the bank.
Nicola has also held positions at other lenders such as TSB, Lloyds Banking Group and Cheltenham and Gloucester.
The bank also hired James Briggs as intermediary sales director at the end of last month (October).
The lender, which is backed by African reinsurer WAICA Re by around £60m, received its AwR in October and aims to fully launch with a range of residential and BTL mortgages next year, as well as a savings proposition.
Afin Bank aims to launch in 2025 to people in England and Wales, as well as offer BTL mortgages for borrowers based in the West African countries of Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia investing in the UK property market.
The firm has been launched to support those who struggle to secure funding from high-street banks and do not meet the criteria of other specialist lenders, supporting those it says are high net worth and have ‘a non-standard income’.
It is is also aiming to support Africans living and working in the UK, who may be poorly served by mainstream lenders due to nationality, visa status or lack of credit history, while also serving other diaspora communities.
Commenting on her appointment, Nicola said: “It’s a great opportunity to use my knowledge and experience to build something new and do it right.
“We want to support our customers in areas where it has been difficult for them to get help before, so they can overcome the barriers that have stopped them from getting a mortgage.”
Jason Oakley, CEO at Afin Bank, added: “Not only does Nicola bring a huge wealth of experience to this role, she also represents the kind of supportive culture we are building at Afin Bank for both our customers and our colleagues.
“I’m pleased to welcome her onboard and look forward to working with her as we build our products, services and operations ahead of Afin Bank’s full launch in 2025.”
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