Subject to approval from the financial regulators PRA and FCA, Christian charity Stewardship, together with a group of Christian philanthropists, has agreed to acquire Kingdom Bank from its current owner, Assemblies of God Property Trust (AOGPT).
The group acquiring Kingdom Bank hope that this change of ownership will facilitate even greater church growth and Christian ministry through the services provided by the bank. Christians, churches and charities will have access to a wider range of financial services and products across the two organisations, as they continue to build God’s kingdom.
Stewardship’s chair of trustees Simon Blake said, “We are delighted at the opportunity to acquire Kingdom Bank with a committed group of evangelical Christian philanthropists who have agreed to invest alongside us. This partnership will give us additional firepower to invest in the bank and strengthen its capabilities, while retaining and enhancing its distinctive Christian character. We will start by investing in the bank’s digital capabilities to enable greater accessibility for account opening and management; look out for these improvements next year.”
Stewardship, founded in 1906, is one of the largest Christian charities in the UK and is dedicated to promoting the generosity of Christians. In addition to working with more than 30,000 Christians, who through Stewardship give more than £80m each year, the charity also provides services to churches and charities to enhance their financial management and governance.
Simon Blake continued, “We also see many opportunities for Kingdom Bank and Stewardship to work closely together, for example in the provision of loans to the numerous church plants and revitalisations occurring in the UK, which is something we are both very keen to support. The Christian community, by placing its savings and deposits with Kingdom Bank, therefore enables us to support churches, charities and Christian workers with their property needs.”
AOGPT started lending in 1954 to support the acquisition of property by new and existing churches of Assemblies of God (AoG), and as the lending business grew, converted it into Kingdom Bank in 2005. AOG now has around 500 churches across the UK. For more than 60 years Kingdom Bank has provided mortgages, savings accounts and insurance services primarily to churches, Christian organisations and Christian workers in the UK.
Kristian Thorpe, Chair of AoGPT, said, “We are excited that an agreement has been reached with Stewardship and the philanthropists and we are absolutely confident they will support the wonderful Christian heritage achieved by Kingdom Bank. We are especially pleased of the commitment to grow and expand the business using the existing staff and management teams.
In recent years Kingdom Bank has built on AOGPT’s mission to help newly formed church congregations and is now working across denominations and financing more than £40m worth of projects that support growing churches. It is an explicitly Christian bank seeking to offer ethical banking governed by the Christian faith.
David Swanney, chair of Kingdom Bank, said, “This is a great opportunity for the bank to not only continue its present valuable ministry but enhance its vision to achieve more. We very much hope this will be approved by the regulators, which will mean many more Christian churches and charities can be served and supported by the bank for years to come.”
Kingdom Bank will be managed and operated by the bank’s board and management, who will continue in place.
