Danske Bank UK, one of the largest banks in Northern Ireland, has appointed former Bank of England director of banks, building societies and credit unions Martin Stewart as its new chairman.

Stewart has been a non-executive director at Danske Bank UK since 2020 and is currently senior independent director on the board. He will take up the role on 1 January.

Belfast-headquartered Northern Bank Ltd, trading as Danske Bank UK, is currently the biggest lender in the North and has a growing presence in Britain, introducing the UK's fist carbon neutral mortgage last year, first in NI and then in England through intermediaries.

As part of its growth strategy the bank is also a lender to the social housing sector in Britain and is active in the syndicated lending space.

Stewart will replace Gerald Gregory, who is leaving the bank after nine years on the board, as chair.

Vicky Davies, CEO of Danske Bank UK, said: “On behalf of the board I want to thank Gerald for his tremendous leadership over the past decade - a period in which we became a stronger bank, delivering significant growth.  

"These were also challenging years, which included navigating unprecedented levels of change across the industry, rising regulatory demands, increased competition, Brexit and the pandemic.

“Martin is a well-known and respected figure in the UK financial services sector and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him in his forthcoming new position as Chair.”

Martin Stewart said: “I am delighted to be taking on this role. It is a time of economic uncertainty and at Danske Bank we remain focused on supporting customers through what will be increasingly tough months ahead.

"The board will continue to put customers at the heart of everything we do, as we work alongside the senior management team to consolidate our leading position in Northern Ireland while pursuing opportunities in the rest of the UK.”

During his career, Stewart has held senior positions at the Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), where he led regulation of Northern Irish banks, and the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA), becoming a key influencer on global financial services policy following the financial crisis.

He has two decades of board-level experience as an executive, non-executive, advisor and regulator, which include having also been managing director of a group of European subsidiary companies.

Danske Bank UK recorded a total operating income of £200m and £61m in profit before tax last year, growing customer deposits by 9% and customer lending to some £6.2bn. The company employs 1,300 people.

Last month Danske Bank became the first company instituted outside of the Republic of Ireland to be fined by the Central Bank when it was charged €1.8m for three breaches of the Criminal Justice Act relating to money laundering and terrorist financing.

Photo: Martin Stewart (left) with Danske Bank UK CEO Vicky Davies.