Atom bank was delighted to welcome Sir Dave Ramsden, Deputy Governor, Markets & Banking, Bank of England, to its Durham HQ at a roundtable of north eastern tech entrepreneurs.  

Sir Dave's attendance at the roundtable was part of a series of visits to a variety of organisations in the North East.  Senior policymakers at the Bank of England regularly visit different regions in the UK, so they can hear first-hand the views of businesses and communities. This helps inform decision making at the Bank of England.

A broad range of firms local to the North East were round the table, alongside Sir Dave and Edward Twiddy from Atom.  Participants included an early stage Durham University anti-counterfeiting spin out, well established Tyneside tech consultants and outsourcers, fintech firms from Durham and Darlington changing the terms of trade for insurance and accountancy, a multinational games business and a Newcastle start up at the bleeding edge of blockchain.

The group discussed the investment environment for tech and financial services firms, including the role of regional, national and international markets for finding the capital needed to grow their business.

Speaking after the event, Sir Dave Ramsden said: "I would like to extend my thanks to Atom bank for inviting me to the Fintech Roundtable. At the Bank of England, we take a keen interest in exploring how innovation and developments in fintech might support our mission to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability."

Edward Twiddy, Atom bank’s Chief Innovation Officer said: “There is an overwhelming swell of new firms coming to challenge established ways of working between businesses and creating completely new experiences for people of all ages and stages. Atom is very much part of that movement, but we are one of many firms changing their industry with novel applications of technology, and increasingly doing this from the North East.

“Skills – tech and personal – and scale are critical to our combined success, so the roundtable was a great chance to discuss our firms’ collective response to the skills challenge and the community of employers in the region who are dedicated to the next generation of schoolchildren and graduates."