UK digital bank Zopa Bank has made a new C-level hire, appointing Visa’s former Head of Data Science, Jeremy Penzer, as its new Chief Analytics Officer.
Penzer has been tasked with leading a 80-strong team at the company, consisting of data scientists, credit decision making and valuation experts. Part of his remit will cover Zopa’s beta and GenAI plans, which the firm has been testing in recent months.
The company stresses that this forms part of its wider growth ambitions, stating that it is entering a ‘phase of accelerated growth’ and is preparing the launch of new products and services.
“I am thrilled to be joining Zopa as it continues its remarkable trajectory as one of the fastest-growing digital banks in the UK,” Penzer remarked.
“Zopa is the only UK neobank successfully lending at scale, meeting all consumer lending and saving needs in one place. I am looking forward to taking Zopa’s data and analytics capabilities to the next level as its steps into everyday banking and enters its next phase of growth.”
Zopa has ambitions for growth in a highly competitive and increasingly high value UK digital banking sector which has seen the emergence of a number of prominent companies, some of which are challenging the traditional banking space.
Monzo is a particularly notable example, with the company being ranked as one of the best in terms of customer satisfaction and enjoying considerable growth across both consumer and business accounts. Revolut, meanwhile, secured its long-awaited UK banking licence last year and stands out as Europe’s most valuable fintech.
Zopa is enjoying success too though. The firm secured a banking licence four years into launch and stated that it has attracted £5.5bn in deposits, has issued over £3bn in loans to its customers, and has some big business partners like Octopus Energy.
It has also benefited from investor attention, notably closing a €80m equity raise led by A.P. Moller Holding. These factors have driven growth and strategic expansion for the firm, which opened a new office in London last month in line with its expanding headcount.
