By Matt Scuffham
LONDON (Reuters) - New British bank Aldermore aims to expand its balance sheet by 60 percent or 1.5 billion pounds this year by picking up customers shunned by larger rivals that are cutting back lending to meet new capital rules.
Aldermore, founded in 2009, is one of only a handful of newcomers that are trying to challenge Britain's established banks and potentially increase competition in the highly-concentrated financial services sector.
The bank was set up by former Barclays (BARC.L) executive Phillip Monks with backing from private equity firms AnaCap and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners.
"We are supporting UK businesses and homeowners by expanding our lending at a time when a number of the UK's largest banks are reducing their overall lending," Monks said.
The bank increased its overall lending by more than 75 percent last year and grew its balance sheet by 60 percent to more than 2.5 billion pounds ($3.9 billion).
Aldermore is now the sixth biggest net lender in the government's Funding for Lending scheme, which provides cheap funding to banks on condition they lend to businesses and households.
During 2012, the bank lent more than 1 billion pounds to small businesses and more than 1 billion to homeowners and achieved profitability in its third full year of operating.
It made a net profit of 800,000 pounds compared with a 900,000 loss in the previous year.
Under the Funding for Lending scheme, its net lending figures of 228 million pounds in the third quarter and 251 million pounds in the fourth quarter made it the fifth and sixth highest lender among participants during the respective periods.
(Reporting by Matt Scuffham. Editing by Jane Merriman)
