Tunney joins from Nomo Bank where she was chief operations officer. She has also worked with Allica Bank as head of operations during its start-up phase and has held roles with high street lenders including TSB, Lloyds Banking Group and Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Afin Bank received its banking licence Authorisation with Restrictions (AwR) last month.

The bank has been established to support borrowers who struggle to secure funding from mainstream banks and lenders, such as foreign nationals living and working in the UK, particularly those from Africa looking for mortgages and will also cater to high net worth customers and self employed workers.

It aims to start lending next year through intermediaries as well as via a digital app and will offer residential and buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages to people living in England and Wales.

Tunney joins to oversee the creation of the lender’s customer service and operations, and will also be responsible for building the people function for the new bank. She will also oversee people and culture at Afin Bank.

Of the new role, she says: “It’s a great opportunity to use my knowledge and experience to build something new and do it right. 

“We want to support our customers in areas where it has been difficult for them to get help before, so they can overcome the barriers that have stopped them from getting a mortgage. Afin Bank is a digital bank, but at the heart of what we do is helping people and we want those customer interactions to work really well.”

Afin Bank chief executive Jason Oakley says: “Not only does Nicola bring a huge wealth of experience to this role, she also represents the kind of supportive culture we are building at Afin Bank for both our customers and our colleagues. 

“I’m pleased to welcome her onboard and look forward to working with her as we build our products, services and operations ahead of Afin Bank’s full launch in 2025.”