ALLICA BANK
Richard Davies, CEO,
Allica Bank
“ I’ m pretty convinced that there will be very significant change driven by the application of large language models to what we do.
“ But I think it’ s harder than the high volume non-banking space, so we’ re just trying to be experimental and thoughtful about how we approach it.”
Measuring success by recommendation For all its technology investments and growth ambitions, Allica maintains a straightforward measure of success: client recommendations.
“ Our overall North Star metric is being recommended by clients because we think that’ s the highest possible bar,” Richard reveals.
“ To recommend you, someone has to love what you do to the degree they’ re prepared to put their own name behind it. It’ s also the best form of growth – it’ s free, unpaid growth.”
This focus on earning genuine enthusiasm from clients reflects Allica’ s broader purpose.
While the bank is commercially successful – having raised over £ 350m( US $ 451.2m) in capital from investors including TCV, Atalaya, and Warwick – Richard emphasises that success is ultimately about making a difference for an underserved but economically vital segment.
“ I have a huge sense of purpose around trying to do something for this segment that makes up about a third of the economy but still seems to be forgotten about,” Richard shares.
“ The more you can attach the work you do to a sense of it being meaningful to the world, the easier it is to enjoy it.”
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