A BANK which the council has invested almost £30 million in remains under ‘close scrutiny’ from the Bank of England, the deputy leader says.

In January 2017, the authority controversially agreed to pay £30 million to buy a 33 per cent share in Redwood Bank.

Earlier this year, it made its third payment to bring its investment to just under the agreed amount.

During Monday’s full council meeting at the Town Hall, Cllr Stefan Krizanac (IND – Westbrook) questioned deputy leader Cathy Mitchell (LAB – Burtonwood and Winwick) about the deal.

He asked what financial returns the council has received so far.

Cllr Mitchell, cabinet member for corporate resources, said the bank is doing ‘really well’ but was unable to provide the information requested.

She insists much of the information, including the details of trading, is commercially confidential and ‘can’t be shared in a public meeting like this’.

“I can confirm, however, that in just two full years of trading the bank has made over £150 million worth of loans to SMEs, of that figure more than half has been through the Warrington office,” she said.

“As a start-up challenger bank, Redwood remains under the close scrutiny of the Bank of England and that is via the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).”

She said the PRA has noted that Redwood’s overall inherent liquidity risk ‘remains low’, adding that the bank is ‘serving its purpose’.

The council failed to sign off its 2017-18 statement of accounts before last year’s July 31 deadline due to a valid objection questioning whether its investment into the bank was legal.

The 2017-18 accounts are yet to be signed off, while the council has also received an objection to its 2018-19 accounts.

They will not be able to be signed off until the previous year’s accounts are done.