The Bank of London
UK clearing bank giving businesses direct access to central settlement rails.
On the record
Checkpoint: FY2025 accounts filing, expected to show first disclosed revenue or narrowed losses
The call
A rare clearing licence keeps the door open, but four CEOs, a PRA fine, and zero disclosed revenue leave the business itself unproven.
Bank of London is a specialized UK bank that can settle payments directly, a privilege held by only six banks in the country. However, the company has lost about £110 million while reporting almost no revenue, faced serious fines from regulators for false records, and survives only because its owner, Mangrove Capital, keeps putting in fresh money. A nearly identical bank called ClearBank does the exact same job but reports £112 million in revenue and operates cleanly, making Bank of London look like the weaker choice. The key question is whether Mangrove Capital will keep funding losses indefinitely or whether the new CEO can turn the business around in the next year.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. Clearing and settlement access sits on regulatory plumbing AI cannot yet replace or automate around. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: ClearBank. Same narrow-bank model, same 2017 era launch window, but ClearBank reports £112m revenue while Bank of London discloses none. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. One of only six UK clearing banks with direct settlement access, kept alive by repeated Mangrove Capital cash injections.
What would change this call
FY2025 accounts filing showing disclosed revenue figures and loss trajectory. Would show if the company is closing the gap with ClearBank or still non-viable.
Whether CEO Tony Bullman remains in post past the 9-month mark from his November 2025 appointment. Would show if leadership instability (four CEOs) is continuing or stabilizing.
Whether Mangrove Capital injects further capital beyond the £80m committed since H2 2024. Would show if the company still depends on rescue funding rather than self-sustaining revenue.
Whether CEO Tony Bullman remains in post past the 9-month mark from his November 2025 appointment. Would show if leadership instability (four CEOs) is continuing or stabilizing.
Whether Mangrove Capital injects further capital beyond the £80m committed since H2 2024. Would show if the company still depends on rescue funding rather than self-sustaining revenue.
Key numbers
- £80m injected by Mangrove Capital since H2 2024
- Pretax loss widened to £41.8m in 2022
- PRA fined Bank of London and parent Oplyse Holdings
Named risks
- PRA fine for fabricated capital disclosures and integrity breach, March 2026.
- Four CEOs in 14 months signals governance instability.
- Zero disclosed revenue despite claimed 4,500+ business clients as of Sept 2024.
- Continued survival dependent on Mangrove Capital recapitalization.
- Headcount decline from peak near 200 to roughly 100 by mid-2025.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| ClearBank | losing to | ClearBank's 2024 revenue of £112.1mn, up 30%, dwarfs Bank of London's undisclosed revenue as of 2026. |
| Starling Bank | contesting | Starling deployed an AI fraud-detection agent for romance and investment scams, reported June 2026. |
| Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest | contesting | Incumbent principal clearing banks retain dominant share while Bank of London remains a niche challenger. |
Questions people ask
- Is The Bank of London profitable in 2026?
- No. It reported a net loss of £24mn for FY2024 and cumulative losses since its 2021 launch approaching £110mn, according to a January 26, 2026 PYMNTS report. No revenue figure has ever been publicly disclosed, unlike peer ClearBank.
- Who owns The Bank of London now?
- Mangrove Capital Partners took effective control after injecting £42-57mn in September 2024 following founder Anthony Watson's departure and a withdrawn HMRC winding-up petition. The parent entity was renamed Oplyse Holdings Limited in March 2026.
- Who is The Bank of London's biggest competitor?
- ClearBank, the other new UK clearing bank launched in 2017, which reported 2024 group revenue of £112.1mn (up 30%) and serves 240+ financial institutions, dwarfing Bank of London's undisclosed revenue and roughly 100 staff as of mid-2025.
- Could AI replace The Bank of London?
- AI threatens its rules-based back-office work like KYC and reconciliation, mirroring sector-wide automation, but its core clearing licence, one of only six UK principal clearing bank statuses, is a regulatory moat AI cannot replicate without becoming a licensed bank itself.
- Was The Bank of London fined by regulators?
- Yes. The PRA fined it and parent Oplyse Holdings £2mn on March 24, 2026, reduced from a warranted £12mn due to financial hardship, for misleading the regulator and submitting fabricated capital documents between October 2021 and May 2024.
- How much funding has The Bank of London raised in total?
- CB Insights recorded $215.39M raised as of July 31, 2024, including a 2024 Mangrove-led round. Separately, the bank stated it secured £80mn in funding since a H2 2024 refinancing under Mangrove Capital, per a January 26, 2026 PYMNTS report.
Timeline
- 2026-03-24PRA fines Bank of London and parent Oplyse Holdings £2mn for fabricated capital documents, 2021-2024.
- 2026-01-26Reports FY2024 net loss of £24mn; cumulative losses since launch near £110mn.
- 2025-11-26Tony Bullman named fourth CEO in 14 months after Christopher Horne exits after nine months.
- 2025-06-09The Banker reports headcount fallen to roughly 100 from a peak near 200.
- 2024-09-08Mangrove-led owners inject £42-57mn after HMRC winding-up petition and founder Watson's exit.
- 2023-02-07Raises $40M Series C extension, holding $1.1bn valuation.
- 2021-11-30Launches as UK's sixth principal clearing bank at $1.1bn valuation.
Revision history
29 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- The Bank of London Launches Today as the World's First Purpose-Built Global Clearing Agency & Transaction Bank (2021-11-30)
- Bank of London (clearing bank) (2026-07-05)
- The Bank of London maintains $1.1bn valuation with $40m raise (2023-02-07)
- The Bank of London reveals £42m fundraise... (2024-09-08)
- Bank of London Stock Price, Funding, Valuation... (2024-07-31)
- Bank of London Reports Loss as Regulatory Oversight Continues (2026-01-26)
- PRA fines The Bank of London and its parent company Oplyse Holdings Limited (2026-03-24)
- Bank of London: How a $1bn unicorn lost its lustre (2025-06-09)
- Bank of London CEO departs (2025-11-26)
- ClearBank Limited, Written evidence
- ClearBank submission (market share data)
- Top UK Challenger Banks (2025-06-26)