OakNorth launches 'easy-access' cash ISAs with plans to boost SME lending by £1.5bn

OakNorth has announced it is entering the ISA market with two new market-leading products.

This includes a 12-month fixed rate cash ISA offering 1.35 per cent and an access cash ISA offering 1.05 per cent.

The minimum balance is £1,000 while the maximum balance in the current year is £20k in accordance with the HMRC’s 2017/18 tax year ISA allowance. Additionally, previous years of ISAs can be transferred in with no upper limit.

Joel Perlman, co-founder of OakNorth, said: “Since our launch, we have attracted over 15,000 deposit customers whose savings have helped fund our lending and enabled us to support numerous UK businesses in achieving their growth ambitions.

“As we look ahead to 2018, we are keen to continue building our high-quality loan book, lending a further £1.5bn to SMEs, so we felt now was the right time to expand our product range and hopefully attract even more customers.”

Since its launch in September 2015, OakNorth has built its deposits customer base to more than 15,000 customers, offering varied savings products to both individuals and businesses.

OakNorth focuses on lending between £0.5m-£25m to fast-growth businesses and established property developers, and has built a loan book of over £900m. The company is hoping to lend a further £1.5bn to SMEs next year.

Perlman concluded: “The launch of our new competitive fixed rate and easy-access cash ISAs will hopefully be a step in the right direction towards rectifying this, giving both our existing and prospective customers the opportunity to make their savings go further.”