A small business lender is looking to bring new competition into the U.K.’s banking sector.
Reports Tuesday (Oct. 18) said Amicus Finance, an alternative SME lender, has applied for a banking license from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. If granted, the license would make Amicus the newest so-called “challenger bank,” a term used for smaller banks to rival the nation’s Big Four banks — Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS.