Company Announcements

31 March 2022

CITY OF LONDON GROUP PLC

 (the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading Update

City of London Group plc announces that Recognise Bank Limited, the Company's principal operating subsidiary, has delivered £100 million in lending to the UK's SMEs six months after achieving its full banking licence in September 2021.

Recognise Bank has also generated £95 million in deposits in six months from its personal savings customers, launching its first range of accounts just two days after receiving its full banking licence.

Bryce Glover, CEO Recognise Bank, said:

"Not only is this a huge lending milestone for Recognise Bank, it is also absolute proof that our digitally enabled, relationship banking model works. Through our lending we have supported a wide range of growing firms - whether it's to acquire their own business premises or to help fund a green housing development - who otherwise would have struggled to find a bank that understood their needs and was willing to lend to them.

"The power of our relationship focus is evident in the customer satisfaction levels we're achieving: our Net Promoter Scores with our lending customers hit an average of 81 for the first quarter of 2022, well above the usual levels for the financial services sector.

"Our next chapter is to continue helping UK SMEs, who are the lifeblood of the UK economy, but with an even greater focus on technology. We will be accelerating our digital agenda and future proofing Recognise. This will include speeding up, streamlining and digitalising operational and customer touchpoints, as well as developing new products and services to help businesses with the financial challenges they face."

Recognise Bank is finalising plans to create a new Innovation Hub that will leverage the Bank's existing award-winning technology platform and insight from working with growing businesses.

ENDS

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