Vanquis Banking Group

Vanquis Banking Group, formerly Provident Financial plc, is a British bank headquartered in Bradford, England which specialises in credit cards, loans and consumer vehicle finance. It primarily services customers with a sub-prime credit history who have been declined for credit from mainstream lenders. It also offers fixed-rate and notice savings accounts under the trading name Vanquis Savings. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was established in Bradford in 1880 by Joshua Kelley Waddilove to provide affordable credit to families in West Yorkshire as the Provident Cloth and Supply Company. The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1962. Provident Financial were one of the first financial institutions to enter into estate agency in the UK, establishing Whitegate Estate Agency in two cities 1978, and by the end of the year was operating in eight Yorkshire towns. The chain grew to 19 branches by the end of 1979, 22 branches by the end of 1980 and 23 branches by the end of 1982. Innovations brought to the market place included seven day opening, computerised mailing lists, a "No Sale – No Fee" guarantee and an all include fixed fee. By late 1985 there were 60 branches of the chain, expanding with a move into the East Midlands in 1986 to 70 branches (the 10 in the East Midlands were acquisitions which had trade during 1986 under their former names. As the chain reached its 10th anniversary towards the end of 1987, the chain totaled 95 branches of which 17 were franchised, rising to 107 branches (27 franchised) by the end of the following year. The chain was sold for £19 million in December 1989 to Legal & General. In 2002, Provident Financial formed Vanquis Bank, with a full banking licence from the FSA, a consumer credit licence with the Office of Fair Trading and a licence from Visa International to operate and issue credit cards under the Visa brand. Vanquis Bank specialised in the pre-paid credit cards.