Vanquis names Peter Estlin chair

Vanquis Banking Group has named City veteran Sir Peter Estlin chair, the subprime lender confirmed on Friday.

The former acting chief financial officer of Barclays will succeed Patrick Snowball, who announced plans to step down as chair earlier in the year. Estlin joined the board of Vanquis, previously Provident Financial, as a non-executive director in April.

Andrea Blance, the senior independent director who led the recruitment process, called Estlin the “outstanding” candidate.

She continued: “His experience will be valuable to the board and the group as we continue to develop as the specialist banking group for customers who find it difficult to access mainstream lenders.”

Chartered accountant Estlin, a former Lord Mayor, has spent his entire career in finance and banking, including lengthy stints at Citigroup and Barclays, where he worked for a decade until 2019.

Snowball will continue as chair until Estlin has regulatory approval to take up the role, Vanquis said.

Gary Greenwood, analyst at Shore Capital – which acts as joint broker to Vanquis – said: “[Estlin] has both the industry knowledge and political acumen to fit the role well. This announcement also removes key uncertainty around the board’s leadership, ahead of the commencement of new chief executive Ian McLaughlin.”

Current incumbent Malcolm Le May is leaving to become chief executive of Bank of Ireland UK.

Provident Financial announced in January that it was dropping its 140-year-old name, as it continued to distance itself from its previous business of high-cost door-to-door lending, which it closed in 2021. It now focuses on providing credit cards, motor finance and personal loans.