We are a UK bank built to meet the needs of a community which deserves attention and recognition. People like you, who work hard for their success, and appreciate everything it enables them to do and become.
People who expect their loyalty to be rewarded and seek the service they deserve. We have built Monument from the ground up, precisely for this community. At its basics, it’s banking. But in your hands, it can become so much more.
The Monument in central London is a commemoration of the end of the Great Fire of London and the beginning of the world’s first modern city. As stone replaced wood, the City’s foundation became stronger.
What is less well known is that the Monument was also designed as a landmark scientific instrument – a giant telescope to advance knowledge. Monument therefore reflects our purpose as a new bank that will deliver strength, appreciation, and a visionary path forward.
We bring decades of experience working in leading financial institutions and professional services. We’re here for our clients and the level of service they deserve.
Ian has worked in finance for over 20 years, most recently leading Business Banking at Barclays, and during his career has developed 2 passions – for clients, and the technology that helps them fulfil their ambitions.
In his spare time, you will normally find Ian falling off a mountain bike, or a paddle board; or trying to persuade 4 teenagers of the merits of a long family hike on the South Downs.
Mintoo spent most of his career as an investor, building teams, and developing forward thinking institutions. Here, at Monument, he is doing much of the same, except this time he is also solving a frustration he’s personally experienced. He left Apollo Global Management after nearly 12 years as a Senior Partner and Managing Director, working in New York, London and then successfully setting them up in India. He’s also worked at the world's largest university endowment (Harvard University) as an investor and served on the Boards of more than 20 companies across three continents.
Mintoo graduated from MIT with a S.B. in Mechanical Engineering and earned his MBA at Harvard.
In his spare time, you might find him working on charitable initiatives or in the gym. He won’t tell most people, but he was once known for his inverted iron-cross and similar feats.
Wasim is obsessed with two things: a client-first approach and use of modern technology to deliver our strategy. Prior to joining, he spent most of his career at McKinsey working with clients on strategy, revenue growth management and large digital transformations, specialising in consumer-centric organisations, and the use of data science. He actually started his career in Tech and now he’s adding the Fin.
Wasim holds a MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College, London.
In his spare time, he pretends to go (and like) boxing. But really, it’s just burning calories before dinner.
Whilst a risk specialist, Nihar’s main hobby is building and growing banks. He’s interacted with almost all new UK entrants as either a regulator, advisor or investor. As a regulator (FSA and then PRA/FCA), he managed the Change in Control team and was responsible for approving several high-profile new bank entrants, after which he was hired to grow PwC’s bank start-up team, making it a market leading practice.
Nihar holds a MSc in Finance with Distinction from the University of Strathclyde and BSc in Finance from Pennsylvania State University.
In his spare time, he will be playing superhero themed Lego. He claims it’s with his son; but the jury is out.
With 30 years in Financial Services, Steve has seen it all. He’s built, led and transformed businesses at HSBC, The Co-operative Bank (working on their well-publicised transformation) and the fintech, 10x Future Technologies. He is also the Chair at Which? Financial Services. Having created HSBC Premier in the UK over 20 years ago, Steve readily identifies with and understands our community well and he is obsessed with serving it in the right way.
Steve holds a MA Economics from the University of Cambridge.
In his spare time, he will go for a short run (only ~10 miles... In his own words: “I can just keep going”. We see that come to life at work too). He’s also our resident sommelier.
Conor is all about tailored lending solutions for you. He has an unrivalled breadth of experience, from operations through to commercial credit underwriting, advising private clients, running teams and managing relationships. Before joining Monument, Conor headed up the specialist lending team in London at Arbuthnot & Co and has also held leadership and relationship roles at Metro, AIB, Santander and RBS.
Conor holds a BSc (Hons) and a postgraduate certificate in healthcare finance and is currently completing his studies at the University of Oxford in fintech.
In his spare time, he is with his young family or serving as Trustee of the European School of Osteopathy. A lifelong Liverpool fan (along with fellow Celt Iestyn) he is basking in glory (for now).
Sav is a Relationship Manager with over 20 years experience in lending, origination and credit. Sav started his career at the Bank of Cyprus as a Graduate Trainee where he learnt the fundamentals of good lending and customer first relationship management. Sav later moved on to Relationship roles at Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Metro Bank.
Sav joined Monument as he was drawn to the unique blend of technology with a human touch and he has always wanted to build a robust lending book from the ground up.
Sav is a Dad to two football mad boys; most of his spare time is spent taking them to football training, futsal training and football matches. Since lockdown Sav has become a keen runner and has also developed a mild obsession with his daily step count.
Having unexpectedly landed in the technology start-up space right after University, Laura has spent 5 years immersed in the world of apps that are designed to enhance the lives of high-net-worth individuals. Passionate about customer service, in-app experiences, and creative content that drives engagement, Laura seeks to nurture the best matched brand relationships for Member Services. Prior to joining Monument, Laura honed her skills and experience in the app space at Velocity Black, working closely with the founders to grow and enhance the customer experience, while also building out the company’s Luxury Goods division.
Laura holds a BA(Hons) in Public Relations from Bournemouth University.
In her spare time, Laura enjoys exercising, spending time with her dog Peaches, and, when she isn’t cooking - going out to her favourite restaurants with friends.
The jewel that holds us all together, Federica does so much more than manage our office and all its interactions, both internal and external. With a career stemming from hospitality (including hotels and serviced offices), she brings a lot of experience in providing excellent service to the team and our visitors. Her positivity and energy is vital to our team – and her desire to do a good job shines through. She joined us from London Executives Offices where she was a Deputy Manager.
She holds a degree in Science in Planning and Urban Design from the University of Naples “Federico II”.
In her spare time, Federica loves to go the gym to practice Barre, Yoga and Pilates. Very few people know that Federica was also a ballet dancer.
Our technology leader. With over 20 years of experience, Sudip has built technology platforms for start-ups as well as very established institutions in the UK. Prior to joining Monument, he was a Senior Director at Publicis Sapient, where he worked with several Tier 1 banks, start-ups, and numerous other organisations. At Monument, he is determined to build a world class, “plug-and-play” banking platform.
Sudip holds a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a MBA from IIT, Delhi.
In his spare time, he is on the PlayStation with his son or practicing Karate together. But after a glass of whisky, the fun begins… and the guitar is out.
With over 20 years of experience, Graham has worked as Operations Manager at Thomson Reuters and Alibaba and brings his wealth of experience to Monument.
During his career he has worked as a C++ developer / DBA and Sys Admin, so brings this experience to his current role. He is helping to build a world class, “plug-and-play” banking platform at Monument.
In his spare time, he is a regular volunteer at his local Mencap charity where he drives the mini-bus for day trips and holidays, and for pleasure he is a keen skier and clay pigeon shooter.
Prerna joined Monument's mobile team as an Android Developer focused on delivering innovative product features. She brings a decade of work experience in software product development, application maintenance & support, debugging, troubleshooting, and project execution and believes in continuously applying the best business practices, through innovative technology solutions.
Prerna holds a B-Tech in Computer Science from Visvesvaraya Technological University, India.
In her spare time, she finds a good evening walk boosts her energy and enjoys balcony gardening. Prena loves a good K-drama and is ready for an UNO cards challenge at any moment.
iOS Lead with over 10 years of experience in software development. He has worked on cutting edge, highly interactive applications and advergames on mobile and web platforms with an obsession with writing clean code. He worked in several digital agencies and has involved in professional teams before joining Monument. With his ability to learn quickly and being a productive and strong team player, he joined Monument to help to build and deliver the next unique experience.
Erdi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Programming from Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, Turkey.
In his spare time, you would find him in a photography gallery or a museum with his camera on his shoulder or developing his analogue films at home.
Feike is a Dutchman who has lived and worked in the UK for 14 years. After starting his career at Price Waterhouse as an auditor, he has worked in retail banking for nearly 25 years. He has been the Chief Finance Officer of the on-line retail bank ING Direct UK and subsequently held Chief Risk Officer positions at Coventry Building Society, Tesco Bank, Kensington Mortgages and the start-up Revver bank.
Feike studied Economics and post-graduate Accountancy at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and he holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Rochester University, New York.
In his spare time, he’s probably assessing the risk of a recent news article if not cooking, wine tasting or wine collecting (he has a level-3 diploma from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust), reading and running.
Dominique studied Business Administration at BCHE, Brunel University specialising in Economics and International Finance. She brings with her 21 years of financial services and regulated markets experience from ING Direct UK, Friends Life, Aviva and Entain.
After graduating, she spent 9 years in operational leadership roles within customer service and mortgage & insurance sales before making the transition to HR. Dominique believes that her interchangeable experience has been invaluable and helps her to provide meaningful strategic partnering to the business.
In her spare time, you’ll most likely find Dominique being taken for a walk by her dog or planning her next trip to fulfil an ambition of seeing classical opera in its country of origin.
In love with history (and we hope numbers), Iestyn brings 20 years of diverse experience in Financial Services. Having started his career at Lloyds, he joined us from Target Group, where he held CFO and interim CEO positions. He was previously a partner and Group Finance Director at Omni Partners and Amicus Finance, and interim CFO and COO at Cambridge & Counties Bank.
Iestyn holds a BA in History from Aberystwyth University, an MBA from University of Warwick Business School and (of course) is a qualified accountant.
In his spare time, he’s probably fishing (and says ‘its called fishing, not catching’, for good reason). Iestyn also supports the “world’s greatest rugby nation, which for those outside Wales, is Wales”.
Fiona has served as an independent Non-Executive Director of the Bank since September 2019. Fiona has held a varied portfolio of Non-Executive Director roles including Chair of Melton Building Society and the VisitEngland Advisory Board. In her earlier banking career, she worked for Barclays, Daiwa Europe Bank, NatWest Capital Markets, and Goldman Sachs.
She was on the Board of SEEDA with responsibility for Business and Tourism as well as being a founder member of the Kent Tourism Alliance, Chair of KM Radio, and one of the Trustees behind the building of the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery in Margate.
In her spare time, she is enjoying art, food and wine – preferably all together!
A London Business School professor (and former Dean), who has also had a very successful career in commercial life and government. His past non-executive directorships include the Bank of England and Barclays plc and he is currently the senior national independent director of Times Newspapers Holdings Ltd and a director of quoted insurance Lloyds underwriter Beazley plc.
Andrew has won the Sunday Times award for Non-Executive Director of the Year in the public/not for profit sector.
As an academic, Andrew’s working and non-working time tend to merge. He is currently working on how to improve human judgement in public and private life.
Steve brings 30+ years of technology management experience to our Board. He has held CIO positions across investment banks, private banks, brokers and other financial services firms and has led the delivery of complex technology implementations and transformations.
Previously CIO at Bupa, and prior to that he was CIO and subsequently COO at The Co-operative Bank plc where he led a successful technology migration and was a key member of the Executive team which turned the bank around.
In his spare time Steve doesn't know how to relax, preferring instead a range of strenuous outdoor activities, over-ambitious DIY projects and researching his next gadget purchase.
A risk expert through and through, Martin held senior roles at a variety of large institutions as well as some recent Fintechs. He was the CRO at HSBC for the retail bank in Europe and latterly for Latin America and held similar roles at Mark & Spencer Money, MBNA, and Standard Chartered Bank. He was also the Chair of the Risk Committee for Chetwood Financial and helped Equifax go through the FCA Authorisation process following changes in the UK consumer credit regulations.
Martin is currently a NED at Oakbrook Finance and was Chairman of Castlight Financial until very recently when it was acquired by Equifax.
In his spare time, he’s watching football and hasn’t missed a Wales game in 8 years. He also has a passion for gardening, although that’s not always clear looking at his garden…
Mr Kalban is one of the most distinguished executives in the GCC Region. He has a long and successful career in various key management roles across the investment, financial, insurance, real estate, manufacturing and education sectors. As Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Investments, for more than 20 years he has led the company through a pioneering journey, successfully growing it into a leading diversified business group in the UAE and across the region.
He additionally holds the role of Chairman of Al Mal Capital PSC, Board Director of National General Insurance Company (NGI) and Board Director for Arcapita Group, Bahrain and Africa Crest Education (ACE) Holding Co.
His career experience was gained through various Executive positions within the UAE Central Bank in Abu Dhabi, Al Khaleej Investment Singapore and Arab Insurance Group (ARIG) and has previously held Chair and Board Director positions at Emirates International Bank, Islamic Bank pf Singapore and Ajman Bank.
Mr Kalban holds an Associate Degree of Arts in Business Management from Arapahoe Community College, USA, and a BS in Management from the Metropolitan State College, USA
Hemant is an Asian Financial markets expert and Co-founded SCUBE Capital, a Monetary Authority of Singapore-regulated fund management company, after a successful 20-year stint with Standard Chartered bank
He was a member of the SCB Global Leadership team and led the Financial Markets & the Investment Bank for South Asia before taking responsibility for the Markets business for 10 Asian countries.
Hemant has served on the boards of Standard Chartered Securities Limited, Standard Chartered Investment and Loans Limited & the Fixed Income, Money Markets and Derivatives association and the advisory board of a leading Indian commodity exchange.
He has strong relationships with Asian regulators and policymakers. He advised the Reserve Bank of India Committee on Currency Futures and the Indian Finance Ministry on the sovereign ratings advisory for India.
He is passionate about using the power of financial markets for the greater good and is involved in community initiatives focused on providing access to education for the girl child.
In his spare time-when Hemant is not in the gym, he is listening to music or watching movies with family.
An entrepreneur and co-founder, Vikash brings a diverse range of knowledge and experience. He is the CEO and co-Founder of VAR Capital, a multi-family office focused on investment management and lending. Prior to that, he spent 7 years at Barclays Wealth in the UK. He’s also held roles at Booz & Company and at Sapient as a technologist.
Vikash is involved in several philanthropic projects, including a previous Board membership of Spirit of 2012, a not-for-profit organisation set up to keep the spirit of the London 2012 Olympic Games alive.
In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter and ride his Harley Davidson as far as he can go.
Ashraf has had a long and successful career in financial services.
Ashraf’s experience includes Chief Financial Officer role at Redwood Bank, Group Finance and Operations Director at West Bromwich Building Society for six years, and he previously held the position of Deputy Chief Executive and Finance Director at Nottingham Building Society for ten years. Ashraf has also held positions of Finance Director and Joint Managing Director at Al Rayyan Bank (formerly Islamic Bank of Britain) and Director of Finance at Santander (formally Alliance & Leicester plc).
During this period Ashraf was responsible for a wide range of areas: strategy (including acquisition and mergers), operations, customer service, change management, IT, branch network, risk, finance and treasury. Ashraf has also led and delivered on long term wholesale funding programmes and capital raising initiatives.
Ashraf was Deputy Chairman of the Bank of England’s PRA Practitioner Panel from 2013 to 2020 and Non-Executive Director of Nottingham Development Enterprise.
In his spare time Ashraf’s interests include travel, football, volunteering at a local food bank and providing support to a charity engaged in Malawi.
Helene brings a 30-year career in Financial Services, most recently as CFO at Capital One UK and of European CFO at EVO Payments. Her experience spans international blue-chip companies in retail and consumer finance, and payments, including 16 years at Visa. She has acquired a strong commercial outlook from senior roles in Strategy, Pricing and Acquisitions & Partnerships.
A key thread throughout Helene’s career is growth and change – supporting companies through both internal and external growth, but also coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs and professionals for personal growth and professional development.
Helene is a Non Executive Director with humm, the UK subsidiary of the consumer and commercial finance Australian-listed group. A strong advocate of a fairer financial services market, she sits on the Customer Advisory Board of Fairer Finance. Helene is also a Trustee on the EDHEC Business School’s foundation.
In her spare time, Helene seeks new experiences and is an arts & ‘art de vivre’ lover. She regularly feels the urge to leave the City (and the English weather) behind, travel places and immerse herself in different worlds, landscapes and cultures.
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