Howe Timms

Passionate, hands-on, technically proficient and commercially driven Credit Risk Specialist with deep expertise in unsecured lending, SME Financial Services, and broader consumer/non-consumer risk management across the UK and Europe.

Proven leadership in both traditional and FinTech firms, leveraging advanced data-driven analytics to drive financial services innovation.

Expertise includes Unsecured Credit Risk, SME Lending, Enterprise Risk, Product Development, Prudential & Operational Compliance, and Risk & Regulatory Reporting. Experienced in securing regulatory engagement and approvals, including banking applications, FCA authorisations, and business plan changes

Co-founder and Chief Risk Officer at Custom Credit, a digital personal loans company using Open Banking to serve underserved customers. Led the full design and regulatory build of the business, including authoring the FCA application and securing SMF16 and SMF17 approval. 
Previously CRO at Jaja Finance, integrating traditional risk management into FinTech and securing a £650M portfolio acquisition from Bank of Ireland. 
Prior senior roles include Retail Credit Director at Close Brothers, where IFRS9 was delivered across £5bn of assets, and Senior Manager at Deloitte, leading regulatory and modelling engagements across major UK banks. 
Extensive credit risk leadership at Barclaycard, FirstPlus, Cabot Financial, and Lloyds TSB, with hands-on experience in credit risk modelling, collections strategy, and regulatory compliance. 
Currently advising a large charity bank in audit capacity and consulting for high street banks and finance companies on innovation, data strategy, and advanced analytics.

Ba (Hons) degree

Trained in Credit Model development by Experian