Bank Aston has been approved by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, making it Guernsey’s first locally-licensed bank in nearly three decades.
Co-founded by Guernsey resident Jay Goss with James Bennett, Bank Aston is aiming to become the “bank of choice” for offshore trustees, investment funds, and family offices.
One of the main goals the founders have is to address current banking challenges, quoting slow approvals and high fees. They’re looking to tackle this by offering a “faster, simpler, and more competitive service” through new technology and offshore market expertise.
Co-founder, Mr Bennett said: “Banking is becoming a huge problem for offshore institutions. They face increasingly slow approvals, poor customer services and eye-watering fees with decisions being taken remotely by legacy banks whose risk appetite is steadily declining.
Mr Bennett continued: “This has resulted in more and more institutions being forced onshore which increases inefficiency, adds unnecessary risk and takes revenue away from the islands.”
Mr Goss added: “Few people realise the seriousness of the situation. The difficulties with onboarding and running accounts is starting to impact the whole industry. But there is an opportunity as well.
Mr Goss continued: “We see Bank Aston as a commitment to Guernsey’s future and to ensuring the island remains relevant, resilient and ambitious on the global financial map”.
The licensing by GFSC is a crucial step towards the bank’s full launch, although there is still work to be done.
Bank Aston has appointed a Chairman and CEO, and plans to formally launch and begin accepting institutional deposits in 2026.
The GFSC authorisation means Bank Aston is now officially recognised as a banking entity locally, albeit with specific conditions to be met before it’s fully operational and accepting deposits.
Who is behind Bank Aston?
The founders – Jay Goss and James Bennett – have extensive industry experience, and can stand on the shoulders of locality as they look to move from licensing to launch.
Mr Bennett has a background in financial media and wealth management, having co-built a wealth management firm in Switzerland with Mr Goss. He also has extensive experience in currency and banking from his leadership of Aston Currency Management, which he also co-founded and where he currently serves as CEO.
Mr Goss describes himself as a proud Guernsey resident, and is a former Royal Marine Officer. He co-established the wealth management firm and is the Chief Commercial Officer of Aston Currency Management.
Bank Aston’s newly placed leadership team is equally experienced.
Kevin Brown, the bank’s Chairman, has seen an extensive career in banking spanning over 40 years, including senior roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of England, (where he was a Senior Independent Director and Risk Committee member on the RTGS/CHAPS Board), and the Financial Conduct Authority, (FCA). He also has a FinTech background, being a founding investor and board member of FinTechs OneiD and Form3.
Paul Gorman, the CEO, brings over 20 years of experience in corporate and investment banking from institutions like Barclays and Santander. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer at Aston Currency Management and the bank says he was instrumental in setting up Aston CM (Guernsey) Ltd, Guernsey’s first payments company offering offshore-domiciled accounts. He has been working on the bank application for the past 18 months.
Mr Gorman says the opportunity to grow is there, and they’re looking to take it.
“The offshore market is huge. In the Channel Islands alone, there is over £800bn of assets under management and another £250bn in bank deposits.
Mr Gorman continued: “There are also thousands of investment funds and hundreds of family offices. We believe with our new approach we can make a huge difference and actively help the whole offshore sector.”
Not only is Bank Aston the first local bank to receive a local licence in almost 30 years, it’s picking up a baton that was dropped back in 1996. That’s when the last locally-based bank in Guernsey ceased trading.
Bank Aston said this highlights a significant gap in Guernsey’s financial ecosystem that they aim to fill.
Mr Brown, Bank Aston’s Chairman says that locality could be crucial.
“I don’t think you can over-emphasise how important it is to the offshore financial community to have their own banking champion. We think Bank Aston has the potential to transform the entire offshore financial system.”