The Federal Reserve Board has announced its approval of the application by OakNorth Bank in order to establish a representative office in New York. OakNorth’s application to establish the New York Representative Office was approved by the Director of the Division of Supervision and Regulation, with the concurrence of the General Counsel, pursuant to authority delegated by the Board.

OakNorth Bank has applied under section 10 of the IBA in order to establish a representative office in New York, New York. The IBA is expected to provide that a foreign bank must obtain the overall approval of the Board to establish a representative office in the US. In addition, the financial institution is set to continue to focus on meeting the needs, preferences, and demands of clients and customers in the ever-evolving market, while also prioritising the process of remaining compliant with the regulatory requirements and laws of the local industry.

More information on the announcement OakNorth represents a financial institution that provides debt financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) primarily based in the region of the UK, while also delivering savings accounts to clients, users, and SMEs through its savings platform. Its customers include businesses that operate in various sectors, including leisure, education, hospitability, healthcare, residential, and commercial development, technical and scientific activities, lending, information, communication, and manufacturing, as well as wholesale and retail trade. The New York Representative Office is set to act as a liaison between the company and current and prospective US customers and users of the bank.

It would also promote and market the financial institution’s products and solutions, perform back-office functions, conduct market research, as well as facilitate lending to US customers and users. Under the IBA and Regulation K, in acting on an application by a foreign bank to establish a representative office, the Board also considered whether the foreign bank has furnished to the Board the information it needs to assess the app adequately. At the same time, the enterprise also considered whether the foreign bank and any foreign bank parent engage directly in the business of banking outside the US, and if the foreign bank and any foreign financial institution parent are subject to comprehensive supervision on a consolidated basis by their home country supervisor.

The Board also considered additional standards set forth in the IBA and Regulation K, while it has by rule determined that the supervision standard will be met if the Board determines that the applicant bank is subject to a supervisory framework that is consistent with the activities of the proposed representative office. The Board also looked into the financial institution’s history, in order to see whether the bank has procedures to combat money laundering, whether there is a legal regime in place in the home country to address money laundering, and whether the home country is participating in multilateral efforts to combat the overall money laundering situations. In addition, it also made sure of the financial and managerial resources of the bank, whether the appropriate supervisors in the home country may share information on the bank’s operations with the Board, as well as whether the bank’s home country supervisor has consented to the establishment of the office.

OakNorth engages directly in the business of banking outside of the US, as it also provided the Board with the information necessary to assess the application, through submissions that address the relevant issues. The company also has policies and procedures to comply with these laws and regulations that are monitored by governmental entities responsible for AML compliance, including the FCA. .