Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS
00:22:58 · Sarah Kocianski
[00:22:58] S1: Yeah. I mean, I think interesting from from my perspective, I I always use Oak North as kind of the the example for the... I call them the neobank will never be profitable brigade. And I'm like, well, there are there are other examples outside of Oak North, but Oak North is, you know, the best one, the easiest one to hold up. And I think it exactly... The model you have speaks to the fact of doing one thing. Well, I would say doing one thing and doing it really, really well. But I think that the one thing that Oak North has done really, really well is that platform is that model is getting the underlying kind of business basics right for working out who you lend to, how much you lend to, etcetera, etcetera. And then, of course, I I haven't read through the numbers in detail, please forgive me. But I'm fairly sure that the platform part of the business will be contributing significantly to to that profitability because other institutions are using it. And why wouldn't they if it's proven so successful for Oak North? I think that just goes to show that actually the one thing you do well doesn't have to necessarily be on the customer end. It doesn't necessarily have to be that kind of new interface or shiny new app or whatever else it is. It can actually just be looking at part of a of a financial organization of a bank that just hasn't changed for hundreds of years or not hundreds of years, but probably in the case of a platform like that and the models it's using fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty years. I'm thinking if we did that bit right, everything else around it will probably come right as well. So, yeah, I just like... I like the diversity of the model.
00:24:15 · Ross Gallagher, Valentina Kristensen
[00:24:15] S0: Yeah. I completely agree. And I think it's another example of where you guys have been quite strategic. Obviously, you've looked at the platform as a way to expand internationally where... But it also allows you guys to really hone in on The UK and what you do particularly well. [00:24:29] S3: I mean, another thing, I guess, I mean, it was picked up less, which I I guess is to be expected. But the fact that we became one of the first banks globally to achieve net carbon zero, which is something else that we're, you know, super, super proud of. I mean, for scope one and two emissions. So, I mean, I won't go into the sort of boring detail of scope one and two... What scope one, two, and three emissions. But, again, you know, it's it's sort of looking at our carbon footprint, every flight that our employees take, you know, the cost for our our IT servers, you know, AWS, you know, those those big, you know, those... The the big servers you'll see out in the desert. So, you know, I think we're we're just really mindful of of, you know, being sustainable in terms of economic sustainability and having a business that makes sense, but also being sustainable in terms of, you know, doing what's right for, you know, the businesses that for the environment that we're we're obviously in and for the the communities that we're obviously, helping to grow. Can I
00:24:29 · Valentina Kristensen, Sarah Kocianski
[00:24:29] S3: I mean, another thing, I guess, I mean, it was picked up less, which I I guess is to be expected. But the fact that we became one of the first banks globally to achieve net carbon zero, which is something else that we're, you know, super, super proud of. I mean, for scope one and two emissions. So, I mean, I won't go into the sort of boring detail of scope one and two... What scope one, two, and three emissions. But, again, you know, it's it's sort of looking at our carbon footprint, every flight that our employees take, you know, the cost for our our IT servers, you know, AWS, you know, those those big, you know, those... The the big servers you'll see out in the desert. So, you know, I think we're we're just really mindful of of, you know, being sustainable in terms of economic sustainability and having a business that makes sense, but also being sustainable in terms of, you know, doing what's right for, you know, the businesses that for the environment that we're we're obviously in and for the the communities that we're obviously, helping to grow. Can I [00:25:21] S1: ask a quick question about that, actually? I just wondered how much of that is driven by customer demand and how much of that is driven by... Or or customer... You know, on both sides, customers, or how much of it is just driven by the ethos of the company itself?
00:25:21 · Sarah Kocianski, Valentina Kristensen
[00:25:21] S1: ask a quick question about that, actually? I just wondered how much of that is driven by customer demand and how much of that is driven by... Or or customer... You know, on both sides, customers, or how much of it is just driven by the ethos of the company itself? [00:25:31] S3: So I think, I mean, if you look at a business like Leon, obviously, a really great example of a business that's very socially minded. You know, they're very much the sort of forefront of the vegan movement, you know, no plastic packaging. So it is something that, know, we are very conscious of, you know, the businesses that we lend to. We don't lend to businesses that are doing, you know, oil and gas or leather tanning or gambling, anything like that. So that's that's one piece of it. But then also... But you [00:25:55] S1: do do alcohol. Right? Get back to our pub point. Bars.
00:25:55 · Sarah Kocianski, Valentina Kristensen, Ross Gallagher
[00:25:55] S1: do do alcohol. Right? Get back to our pub point. Bars. [00:25:59] S3: Sure. Bars bars and restaurants, places that serve alcohol. But, know, I mean, if you think about, like, a Leon, you know, that's a that's a business that's very socially minded. So I think if we were being seen to be, you know, creating a huge detriment to the environment, then that would probably make businesses like Leon question whether we're really the right funding partner for them. But it is also because, as I say, I mean, it's... We're all very mindful of the the, damage that's been done to the environment. You know, if we don't... We... You know, we all have, well, a lot of people obviously at Open North have children or want children, or just, you know, don't want... You know, want to ensure that the planet is still here in in fifty years, a hundred years, two hundred years, etcetera. So, yeah, just making sure that we're we're doing... You know, we're being sustainable and being a good business. Yeah. Both economically, but also, environmentally. [00:26:43] S0: And this is the thing, isn't it? Because you... You're almost sort of proving the model. Right? You're showing that you can be socially aware and that, you can be sustainable, but at the same time, you can be ranked in the top 1% of banks globally in terms of performance, you know, named by the Feet as Europe's fastest growing company. So, yeah, you guys are booking some serious trends.
00:26:43 · Ross Gallagher, Sarah Kocianski
[00:26:43] S0: And this is the thing, isn't it? Because you... You're almost sort of proving the model. Right? You're showing that you can be socially aware and that, you can be sustainable, but at the same time, you can be ranked in the top 1% of banks globally in terms of performance, you know, named by the Feet as Europe's fastest growing company. So, yeah, you guys are booking some serious trends. [00:27:04] S1: Sorry. Was just gonna say going back to the wider point as well, I know that Oat North does a certain amount of work with investing money back into women entrepreneur... Female entrepreneurs and and helping women out through the chain. And going back to a podcast I recorded earlier this week for International Women's Day, you can make money doing the right things. And I think we need more companies coming out and saying, look, we are profitable. It does make good business sense. It really works. And to being held up as that example because a lot of companies will take the easy way out and say, can't make any money doing that, the business will fold, you know, whether that's green credentials with that supporting female entrepreneurs, whatever it is. So I think, you know, the the more we see, the better and the more examples that are out there, the better.