Financial services company ClearBank has brought on David Samper as their new Group Chief Financial Officer.
ClearBank, a leading embedded banking and real-time clearing infrastructure provider, has secured a significant milestone in its internationalisation strategy with the acquisition of a Credit Institution Licence from the European Central Bank, supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank. This licence enables ClearBank to operate throughout the European Economic Area, marking a significant expansion of its European presence.
In a move to support this growth strategy, ClearBank has appointed David Samper as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Samper, who brings over 30 years of financial services experience, is expected to be a key contributor to ClearBank's next phase of international growth.
Samper joins ClearBank from Newcastle Building Society, where he served as Group CFO, and has a strong background in strategic finance, capital markets, investor relations, regulatory engagement, and technology transformation. His tenure at Newcastle Building Society saw a transformative growth strategy that doubled the Society's assets and delivered the successful merger with Manchester Building Society.
Prior to his role at Newcastle Building Society, Samper held senior finance roles at Sainsbury’s Bank and NatWest Group. His expertise in M&A and strategic finance is expected to strengthen ClearBank’s leadership as it scales internationally.
ClearBank's financials for the year ending December 2024 reflect its growth. Revenues increased by approximately 30% to £112.1 million, with fee-based group income rising 63% to £53.3 million. The total managed deposits grew 77% to £10.8 billion. While its UK business remained profitable for a second consecutive year, reporting a £9.9 million pre-tax profit in 2024, costs associated with European expansion and a new group structure led to a group-level pre-tax loss of £4.4 million.
ClearBank's European expansion is also supported by strategic partnerships, such as with PingPong Payments. This partnership enables PingPong to leverage ClearBank’s UK agency banking and European banking licence to offer enhanced payment solutions across Europe.
ClearBank serves prominent clients including Revolut, Tide, TrueLayer, Coinbase, Raisin, and others, emphasizing its role as a leading embedded banking and real-time clearing infrastructure provider since its launch in 2017.
Mark Fairless, CEO of ClearBank, expressed his excitement about Samper joining the business, praising his expertise and calibre. Samper, in turn, expressed his enthusiasm for joining ClearBank due to its reputation for technological innovation, best-in-class regulatory compliance, and strong growth strategy. He will lead ClearBank through its European expansion and next phase of international growth.
With its expanded presence across Europe, ClearBank now operates in up to 15 European markets, up from 11 reported earlier, and continues to pursue further international growth.
David Samper, appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at ClearBank, brings over three decades of financial services experience and is expected to contribute significantly to ClearBank's next phase of international growth. His expertise in strategic finance, capital markets, investor relations, regulatory engagement, and technology transformation, gained from positions at Sainsbury’s Bank, NatWest Group, and Newcastle Building Society, will strengthen ClearBank's leadership as it scales internationally, while his successful track record in M&A is expected to aid ClearBank's compliance with European regulations and technology integration during its European expansion.
