Preston Council invests £1m in plans NW Mutual Bank

Preston City Council is set to invest £750,000 in the NW Mutual Bank – meeting its pledge to support the start-up to the tune of £1m.

The council’s cash will be will used to build the systems and operational model of NW Mutual, preparing its banking licence application and hiring staff for the head office and the first branches.

In February last year it was revealed that the new bank had chosen the city as the location for its head office and the first of 60 planned branches across the region – creating around 40 new jobs.

The city council made an initial £250,000 payment to the bank in September last year. The rest of the £1m will now be handed over, subject to the approval of the full council.

NW Mutual is a cooperative society behind pioneering plans for a mutual bank serving retail and business customers in the North West of England.

Councillor Valerie Wise, Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building said: “The market needs a viable cooperative and ethical alternative to mainstream banks and financial services.

"A bank that is owned by, and run in the interests of local people would better serve our communities and local businesses.

"Offering a range of practical, local banking solutions to help SMEs in the region to expand and succeed in a challenging market, where finance can be difficult to secure.”

Dave Burke, chief executive of NW Mutual said that the investment by Preston City Council represented “a good use of tax payers money”.

Dave said: “We are building a team to create a new, ethical, trustworthy and customer-owned bank, putting branches back on the high street, serving all the people, small businesses and local organisations in the NW of England, making lending decisions based on the knowledge of the region and its people.

“When authorised, as a mutual society with one member, one vote, control will be shared among the very people and organisations we serve and when we reach adequate and sustainable profitability we will want to share those benefits back with the customers that helped create it.”

Having already registered NW Mutual with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), regulator of financial services firms and markets in the UK, Dave is preparing a banking licence application to submit to the Bank of England.

Following constructive engagement with the regulators, Dave expects to formally submit the banking licence application in the next few weeks.

The decision on a licence by the Bank of England is expected towards the end of 2026. If the licence is granted, the first branch is planned to open in the first quarter of 2027, with more branches to follow throughout the rest of 2027.

£1m will be invested in building the systems and operational model of NW Mutual, prepare the banking licence application and hiring staff for head office and the first branches. 

Following a decision by Preston City Council Members at full Council in January 2025, Preston City Council is the first North West authority to pledge money to supporting the bank's plans to date with positive talks ongoing with other investors.

The proposed 'bricks, clicks and flicks' business model of NW Mutual will deliver hi-tech and staffed branches, complemented by mobile and online banking, providing retail and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers with a full range of financial products and services