The specialist lender will provide development loans between £500,000 and £5m to support regional property developers, SME businesses and construction companies.

It will also offer a range of fixed-term saving products — savings will be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000, and the funds will be directly linked to local community developments.

As part of its lending policy, GB Bank is committed to using local professional advisers, encouraging local employment opportunities and driving positive benefits in communities across the UK that need it most.

Following its launch, the bank intends to lend £3bn over the next five years, aiming to support the creation of over 100,000 jobs, 20,000 new homes and several million sq ft of office space.

•   Hilltop launches real estate funding and management platform
•   GB Bank aims to lend £3bn over next five years
•   GB Bank appoints new CEO

Stephen Lancaster, CEO at GB Bank (pictured above), said: “We are absolutely delighted to officially launch GB Bank;  I’m incredibly proud of the entire team's hard work, which has enabled us to achieve the fantastic milestone of securing our full UK banking licence. 

“Everyone at GB Bank is raring to go and can’t wait to see first-hand the positive impact we will make to the communities across the UK.”

Paul Rippon, chairman of GB Bank, added: “We are bringing something truly unique to the market, and it’s hugely rewarding to know the future of communities across the UK will directly improve due to our work. 

“The funding will build new homes and offices to reinvigorate communities and create jobs supported by secure and competitive saving accounts.

“We are excited about what the future holds.”

Neil Williams, chief lending officer at GB Bank, stated: “Developers are facing numerous challenges, such as increasing material costs, access to land and difficulty sourcing and retaining labour.

“We are helping by working with them to provide quick lending decisions to better enable them to commit to purchasing land, providing competitive fixed interest rates so they can more accurately calculate funding costs together with providing connections to a property ecosystem with local, professional advisors.

“All our loans are tailored to individual developers' needs and requirements — the relationship managers and credit partners are based locally meeting with the developer early in the development appraisal to ensure their needs are identified.

“This local decision-making ensures that the developer is quickly and efficiently supported throughout their lending journey.

“We have a real passion for the region and look forward to putting that knowledge and enthusiasm into supporting regional communities that need it most.”