Checkmate becomes Portillion and eyes retail deposit funding

Lending Strategy March 2010

Checkmate Mortgages has rebranded to Portillion and appointed Philip Dearing, formerly chief executive officer of Market Harborough Building Society, as savings director.

The appointment suggests the lender will look to retail deposits for its funding when it launches.

Portillion has yet to reveal when it plans to launch or if it has obtained its banking licence from the Financial Services Authority.

Dearing is also a non-executive director at Mutual One and Bailey Computer Services, a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society.

Dearing is just one of several new recruits at Portillion.

Gerald Gregory, previously a director at Britannia Building Society, is taking on the non-executive chairman role while Ronnie Baird, previously a director at the FSA, becomes senior non-executive director.

David Hill, previously chief financial officer and chief executive officer of Stroud & Swindon Building Society, has been appointed as chief financial officer and David Kindred, previously head of decision sciences at Lloyds Banking Group, is to become chief risk officer.

Stephen Knight, previously executive chairman at GMAC-RFC and Checkmate, takes on the role of chief executive officer.

The lender says the new name is a result of research in the business-to-business and business-to-consumer sectors. Derived from the French word portillon, meaning the security gate in front of a castle, it passed various tests.

Gregory says: “The board, management team and governance structure here is as good as I have seen in the industry.

“When the time is right for Portillion to launch I am sure it will improve choice and benefits for customers.”