SECURE TRUST BANK PLC — Earnings Release 2013

Oct 11, 2013

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RNS Number : 2534Q

Secure Trust Bank PLC

11 October 2013

For Immediate Release

11 October 2013

Secure Trust Bank PLC

Update on Q3 trading

Secure Trust Bank PLC ("STB" or "Secure Trust Bank") traded well during the quarter ending 30 September 2013. Demand for lending and deposit products remained strong. For the second successive summer, cycle finance has seen increased new business levels. The bank continues to enjoy favourable funding conditions and has raised additional five year fixed rate deposit funding during this period to mitigate the potential impact of interest rates rising sooner than some commentators expect.

Secure Trust Bank has made significant progress with the development of its plans for the SME lending market. We will invest to develop our business initially in two areas - asset based lending, specifically the Invoice Finance market, and property. 

Clear opportunities to compete effectively in the Invoice Finance market have been identified and the Directors believe these opportunities will increase as the larger banks seeking to improve their capital efficiency will encourage borrowers currently using overdrafts to use alternative funding products thus increasing demand for invoice finance and asset based lending. To that end we have recruited a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer who will build our new business in this area - Secure Trust Bank Invoice Finance (STB IF). This business, which will leverage the existing STB Group infrastructure, will deliver an outstanding service to businesses typically operating with up to £5 million of turnover and in need of cashflow funding. The incoming executives are well respected and experienced professionals, with 33 years of combined experience in this segment of the industry. The COO joins us on 4th November 2013 and we expect to begin writing new business in H1 2014.  We believe the property market continues to be underserved as some of the larger banks deal with legacy real estate portfolios and we believe there remain selective good opportunities.  Our interest is in both investment and development, predominately commercial in composition.

Secure Trust Bank is encouraged by the on-going public acknowledgement that more needs to be done to foster competition in UK Banking and welcomed the Government's announcement on Wednesday 9 October which read HM Treasury today announces the creation of a new, utilities-style regulator charged with increasing competition in the payments sector. The government is determined to empower smaller firms to challenge the big banks to deliver real benefits for each and every user of financial services.  Secure Trust Bank's Chief Executive Officer, Paul Lynam, is now chairing the Challenger Banks panel for the British Bankers Association. The panel members are using this forum to further the case for greater action by Government to create a truly level playing field for all banks, regardless of scale.

As it progresses its stated strategy Secure Trust Bank continues to invest in product innovation in its existing businesses in addition to working on a diverse pipeline of organic and external business opportunities.

An investor presentation will be available on the Secure Trust Bank website www.securetrustbank.com/general/results-presentations on 14 October 2013.  No new material trading or financial information will be disclosed in this presentation.

Enquiries:

Secure Trust Bank PLC Henry Angest, Non-Executive Chairman Andrew Salmon, Non-Executive Director	Tel: 020 7012 2400
Paul Lynam, Chief Executive Officer Neeraj Kapur, Chief Financial Officer	Tel: 0121 693 9100
David Marshall, Director of Communications	Tel: 020 7012 2400
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Adviser) Lawrence Guthrie Sunil Duggal	Tel: 020 7665 4500
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Broker) Roger Lambert Lucy Tilley	Tel: 020 7523 8000
Bell Pottinger Ben Woodford Dan de Belder	Tel: 020 7861 3232

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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