How to Build a Bank

As has been proven time and again, banks are the single most important business institution in any economy. If they fail, the whole economy fails. How to Build a Bank sets out, in a manner that is completely unprecedented, all the requirements for the core documentation essential for the operation of a bank.

The book takes the reader through the core requirements to operate a bank, and then provides actual examples of the relevant regulatory documentation required for the bank‘s operation, the rationale for the documentation and the details and information required to complete the documentation. Each chapter of the book includes a template of the key regulatory documents required to operate a bank. The book thus simplifies a very complex area of regulatory and banking laws and rules to enable a better understanding of the banking sector and a better understanding of the key requirements for a successful long-term banking business.

It is essential reading for bank executives, financial service executives, regulators, lawyers, accountants and professionals involved in bank and financial service authorisation and bank and financial service operations. It will also be very helpful for anyone wishing to understand how the most important business institutions in an economy work and the lessons that can be learned from understanding the detailed regulatory requirements to ensure their success and long-term viability.

Ravi Takhar has over 35 years’ experience in the creation, acquisition, growth, financing and disposal of financial businesses and banks. Mr Takhar is CEO of London Stock Exchange listed Orchard Funding Group PLC, a company he founded in 2002. He was an investment banker and Head of Financial Services Investment at Nikko, the Japanese investment bank, from 1998 to 2002, as well as Chairman of Mortgages PLC, the mortgage lender. Ravi was also Head of Mortgage Principal Finance at Investec Bank PLC from 2005 to 2008 and Chairman and Chief Risk Officer of Urban Exposure PLC, the development finance lender, from 2009 to 2020. He qualified as a banking solicitor at Clifford Chance, a leading international law firm, and has an MA from the University of Oxford.

"Those who have looked to obtain a banking license will know it’s not an easy task and has many twists and turns. What Ravi has achieved here is the manual for anyone wanting to take on the authorisation challenge. Covering all the bases from start to end, brilliantly written and easy to understand, How to Build A Bank is the ultimate guide." -- Carl D'Ammassa, CEO at DF Capital Bank

"Ravi Takhar is a financial services entrepreneur who has built a lending and deposit taking institution from scratch. He has now written a detailed textbook describing how he did it. This is a serious technical guide for anyone who wants to start their own bank. It covers all the critical requirements needed to gain approval from the regulators, and is thus essential reading for every challenger bank entrepreneur, and indeed those who advise or back them." -- Luke Johnson, Chairman, Risk Capital Partners