ClearBank, a real-time clearing and embedded banking enabler, has named Valerie Romanovskaya as its UK chief financial officer pending regulatory approval. Romanovskaya comes to ClearBank from HSBC Innovation Bank, where she held the role of director of finance and head of FP&A. With over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, and auditing at HSBC, UBS, and Silicon Valley Bank, she will join ClearBank UK’s executive team and board of directors.
ClearBank has gained a position as the market leader in agency banking and embedded banking infrastructure since it was founded in 2015. It serves a roster of well-known clients such as Coinbase, Raisin, Chip, Tide, TrueLayer, and Wealthify and has been consistently profitable since 2022. The bank reported £111.3m in total income and £18.4m in first annual pre-tax profit with 91% YoY growth last year.
Emma Hagan’s appointment as UK CEO earlier this year preceded Romanovskaya’s. After gaining regulatory approval, Hagan and Romanovskaya will work together to drive ClearBank’s UK growth ambitions, with the latter also supporting Mark Fairless, ClearBank’s CFO, in managing the group’s broader finance function. Romanovskaya’s responsibilities at the UK bank will encompass all finance-related activities, ranging from financial planning and performance to capital and liquidity and financial regulatory reporting.
ClearBank CEO Emma Hagan expressed her excitement at having Romanovskaya join the team, as her leadership, strategic mindset, and financial acumen make her a great fit for ClearBank’s organization. Romanovskaya, in turn, looks forward to driving international expansion for ClearBank while also spearheading the bank’s UK growth.
