Our People | Meet Anton Bradley

Intrepid explorer Anton Bradley has recently joined Redwood Bank as Collections Manager. In this article, he shares his passion for the finance industry, supporting customers, Ernest Hemingway and fine art.  

What gets you out of bed in the morning?  

A snoozed alarm clock. On a serious note, I thoroughly enjoy the concept of my working day ahead and knowing that I have a goal to achieve. 

What has been your proudest achievement with Redwood to date? 

Gaining agreement to support a customer who had been impacted by the pandemic despite it initially appearing to be non-related.  After I had investigated, I was able to evidence that the customer was negatively impacted by COVID-19 before the pandemic was a problem in the UK, hence their challenges. Their business is international, and they were dramatically impacted long before we, in the UK, knew COVID-19 was going to be a problem. 

Challengers vs high street banks – is there a place for both?  

There most certainly is. High street banks tend to be more conservative, and while they may take a large portion of the meat and potatoes residential mortgage lending, smaller challenger banks are able to take a more pragmatic approach.  We can take a view on what some high street banks may consider to be more risky deals, but by having a hands-on and personable approach we can understand what opportunities and complexities our customers face.   

We can think outside the box, discuss within our team and make deals happen where larger organisations can’t. All the tier one banks started out as small ventures. As Pink Floyd said: “It can be made into a monster if we all pull together as a team…” I plan to see Redwood grow to be a household name. 

How do you see Redwood evolving in the next three years? 

I would like to think that we can expand our product range. I believe there are gaps in the market for product innovation.   

I can also see the inclusion of more technology.  Fintech saw an increase in investment of 14% from 2019 to over £30 billion.  Anyone who has worked in Fintech will tell you that the magic being worked will revolutionise how banks operate over the next decade.   

I can foresee open banking being implemented more widely in the near future and this will be just the start of our fintech journey.  

What should we watch out for in the wider industry in the next three years? Any game-changers on the horizon?  

As more people look to work from home, they are putting in more hours than they would have done had they been in the office.  As more companies realise this, they may soon discover that they perhaps don’t need large expensive offices in central locations.  They will be able to run as efficiently with much smaller offices or even virtually in some cases.  This is expected to change the landscape of large city centres from almost exclusively office with retail and leisure, to much more residential.  

If you weren’t doing this, you’d be… 

I love painting (though not well), so I’d say an artist. Either that or living on a beach in the South of France, painting and participating in overindulgence and decadence.   

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in banking?  

Go for it! Don’t let anything stop you, it’s great fun. Listen to what more experienced people have to say, learn, pay attention and absorb.  If you’re willing to take advice, admit when you don’t know something and share your knowledge when you do, the world can be your oyster. 

What’s the best piece of advice you have received since being at Redwood? 

Never do anything you would be ashamed to admit to later on. I think this so perfectly correlates with Redwood’s key values of integrity, certainty, tireless and simplicity.  

What three people, dead or alive, would you invite to your ultimate dinner party? 

Ernest Hemingway, by far my favourite author. 
Billy Connolly, he’s the funniest man on the planet. 
My wife, I wouldn’t enjoy it fully if she wasn’t there. 

Anything else we should know about you? 

I spent 10 years playing in various death metal bands, until I matured and got married and have lived on two continents, in four countries and nine cities… and counting.