London-based online lender OakNorth has originated over $1 billion since making its U.S. market debut in July 2024.  

Small- and medium-sized businesses have flocked to OakNorth for its services, and the lender is looking to expand through the real estate market, Ben Barbanel, head of debt financing at OakNorth, told Bank Automation News.

“This year, we anticipate originating over $1.5 billion in loans,” Barbanel said. “Nearly 70% of that would be in real estate.” 

OakNorth is opting for a sector- and geography-agnostic approach when it comes to real estate lending, he said. The lender will originate for commercial and residential properties for the “opportunistic deal.” 

“We know from our experience in the U.K., in every part of the market, every sub sector has good deals and bad deals,” Barbanel said. “We’re even doing office deals at the moment for the right sponsors in the right locations, at the right attachment point, and that’s absolutely fine.” 

AI for originations, auditing 

The company also joined forces with OpenAI on May 7 to improve efficiency and better serve clients, Barbanel said. 

“Our origination timeline usually is five to seven days,” Barbanel said, adding that with the help of AI for administrative tasks, OakNorth expects to reduce its origination timeline by up to 30%. 

Some use cases of AI at OakNorth are: 

• Lending: OpenAI, particularly its deep research model, enables OakNorth to combine its ON Credit Intelligence platform with ChatGPT to extract, summarize, analyze and research credit information, Barbanel said. This also extends to generating term sheets for loans and delivering structured Q&As tailored to sectors, always with a human in the loop, he added. “This AI-driven environment boosts responsiveness, efficiency and decision-making across OakNorth.”
   

• Auditing: OakNorth is integrating AI across the audit lifecycle, from planning and strategy through to execution, testing, monitoring, reporting and quality control, Barbanel said. “Today, custom GPT models automate up to half of audit planning documentation, while a ‘Chief Auditor’ AI tool guides audit strategy and methodology.”

New bank charter 

As the lender grows its U.S. operations, OakNorth plans to acquire Michigan-based Community Unity Bank for an undisclosed amount, according to a March 17 release from the company. 

The bank, Barbanel said, “will help us accelerate and support our business clients across the U.S.”  

OakNorth is awaiting regulatory approval for the acquisition and aims to add a deposit product to bring consumers deeper into its ecosystem over time, he said. 

Other fintechs have made acquisitions to gain charter licenses, including SMB financing provider SmartBiz’s acquisition of $31 million Centrust Bank this year.