Barclays UK has announced the appointment of Lee Counselman as a managing director for technology investment banking.

Counselman will focus on strategic M&A and equity work within the software banking team and report to Kristin Roth DeClark, head of technology investment banking, according to an Aug. 14 news release.

London-based Barclays has been investing heavily in technology, which has become a significant sector for the bank, according to the release. Counselman’s appointment shows the bank is prioritizing its technology and software-specific banking sectors, per the release. 

The $1.9 trillion bank saw an increase in operating costs of 6% year over year to 3.9 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) in the second quarter, driven by “continued investment in talent, systems and technology,” per the company’s Q2 earnings supplement. 

“In Barclays UK, we are investing in transformation to improve service for our customers by automating, digitizing and simplifying our offering, whilst also driving lower costs,” Anna Cross, Barclays group finance director, said during the Q2 earnings call in June.  

Counselman served as global head of software investment banking at Deutsche Bank and worked as an associate at Merrill Lynch & Co. before joining Barclays.  

NatWest CEO Rose steps down

NatWest Chief Executive Alison Rose stepped down last month after her conversation with Simon Jack, a BBC journalist, about the account closure of British politician Nigel Farage, per the bank’s July 25 release. 

Farage’s account with Coutts, a wealth banking segment of NatWest, was closed due to his political beliefs, according to the release.  

“I was not part of the decision-making process to exit Mr. Farage,” Rose said in the release. “This decision was made by Coutts, and I was informed in April that this was for commercial reasons.” 

Rose added that she was wrong to respond to any question raised by the BBC about the case. 

The NatWest Board has said it is aware that the handling of Farage’s account has been unsatisfactory, which will have serious repercussions for the bank, the release stated. 

“The Board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group,” Howard Davies, chairman of the NatWest Group Board stated in a July 26 release. “It is a sad moment. She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her.” 

Paul Thwaite was appointed to replace Rose. He has led NatWest’s commercial banking division since November 2019.  

Nutmeg director Somani leaves

Sanjiv Somani, director and chief executive of Nutmeg, a digital wealth management platform owned by JPMorgan, has stepped down for unknown reasons, according to an Aug. 6 Companies House filing. 

Somani had been appointed director of Nutmeg on Dec. 1, 2022.  

JPMorgan bought Nutmeg for $891 million in June 2021. Nutmeg had 140,000 investors, and over $4.4 billion of assets under management during the time of the acquisition, per JPM’s June 2021 release. 

The digital wealth management platform posted losses of $36 million and $24 million in fiscal 2022 and 2021, respectively, per the Companies House filings.  

“Sanoke Viswanathan who runs the international consumer division overall, which houses Chase in the U.K., Nutmeg and our plans for expansion to other countries, is picking up direct control of U.K. again, so it won’t disrupt or delay any of our plans,” a JPM spokesperson told Bank Automation News. 

Viswanathan is “based in London so the transition back to him will be seamless and have no impact on customers,” the spokesperson added. 

Kozole named CRO at N26

Germany-based digital bank N26 has appointed Carina Kozole as chief risk officer.  

Kozole brings nearly two decades of experience in the banking and financial services industry to N26 with a focus on risk management in lending and risk control, an N26 spokesperson told BAN. 

She “will be responsible for the risk management function at N26 and lead the respective teams in this domain,” the spokesperson said.

Kozole has multiple years of experience working with financial regulators across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and is expected to join the company later this year, per the release. 

“I am excited to be coming on board to help build out the future of risk and compliance for one of the most dynamic digital innovators in our industry,” Kozole said in the release. 

Prior to joining N26, Kozole served as the head of credit risk operations at UniCredit, a pan-European commercial bank headquartered in Milan. Kozole will take over from interim CRO Jan Stechele, who will continue as managing director monitoring AML and compliance, per the company’s release. 

Kozole will replace Thomas Grosse, the company’s prior CRO who left for personal reasons in March 2023. 

Vanquis Bank’s Kapur leaves CFO post

Vanquis Banking Group announced on Aug. 7 that Neeraj Kapur, chief financial officer, has stepped down for personal reasons.  

The Bradford, U.K.-based bank has appointed Gareth Cronin, Vanquis’ CRO, as interim CFO until a permanent replacement is found, per the bank’s press release. 

“Neeraj has played a key role in our transformation to a specialist banking group focused on mid-cost and near-prime customers and I would like to thank him on behalf of the Board, and the Group,” Ian McLaughlin, CEO of Vanquis Bank, said in the release. 

Vanquis Bank acquired Snoop, a money-saving app, last month for an undisclosed amount. All 1.7 million customers of Vanquis Bank will be able to access Snoop’s services for better finance management, according to the company’s July 31 release.