Why Fintech Executive Structure Matters More Than Ever to Banks

How your fintech’s leadership team impacts fundraising and banking partnerships 

There’s nothing more important to a fintech than raising capital and building and maintaining strong banking relationships. These partnerships underpin access to banking licenses and safeguarding arrangements. Not to mention, the long-term support that allows fintech’s to scale confidently. But what’s often underestimated is how much a fintech executive team structure influences a bank’s willingness to commit for the long term. The strength, credibility, and balance of the executive team and board overseeing the business can significantly shape a bank’s confidence. 

In this article, we  explore key insights from NatWest’s perspective shared by Jenny Edwards, Managing Director, Head of NatWest Venture Banking and David Grunwald, Head of Open Innovation. We also get thoughts from Erevena’s fintech partner, Maria Josife and  Illuminate Financial’s General Partner, Rezso Szabo, on how to prepare your start-up for success to secure both investment and critical bank partnerships.

Leadership quality as a risk mitigation signal  

Leadership quality is a key factor when banks assess fintech partnerships. But how does leadership influence banking risk and long-term partnership decisions?  

Jenny explained: “Leadership quality is a central input into how we assess risk and durability. In high-growth businesses, financial metrics often reflect potential rather than maturity, so we place significant weight on the judgment, transparency and adaptability of the leadership team behind them.”

Jenny added that strong leaders understand the balance between ambition and resilience: “They are thoughtful about how capital is deployed, realistic about timelines, and open about risks as well as opportunities. From a banking perspective, this builds confidence that the business can navigate uncertainty, particularly through economic cycles and periods of market tightening.“ 

“Just as important is how leaders engage with challenge. Teams that communicate clearly, respond constructively to scrutiny, and adjust course when required tend to make better long-term decisions. Over time, that consistency reduces risk and supports more sustainable growth, creating stronger outcomes for founders, investors and lenders alike.” 

David also added that these considerations “Are particularly important early stage, before a financial track record has been established. For more mature companies, the weighting across assessment areas can and does shift. However, leadership will always be considered.” 

What defines a strong Executive bench? 

Key factors in a bank’s assessment of your leadership will centre on: 

• Your Exco’s alignment with your strategy
  Your leadership team should reflect where the business is headed. If you’re focused on expanding internationally, strengthening compliance, or launching new products, there should be clear executive ownership for each priority. 

• Clarity of accountability in the team
  Each executive should know exactly what they’re responsible for. Overlapping roles or unclear boundaries can slow decisions and create confusion whilst adding organisational debt. 

• Regulatory credibility and governance
  As fintechs grow, especially those regulated, leadership structures need clear oversight of risk and compliance. Regulators expect defined responsibilities and strong governance. 

• Succession planning and bench strength
  A strong executive team isn’t dependent on just one or two individuals. There should be clear succession plans and capable leaders ready to step up if needed. 

• Scalability for future growth
  The structure should work not just today, but as the business becomes more complex. Many fintechs benchmark themselves against established banks to test whether their model will scale. 

Building for Scale  

Governance and resilience are topics that keeps surfacing with Jenny stressing that they “look for boards that add genuine perspective, clear accountability across the organisation alongside disciplined financial reporting that enables informed decision making.” The presence of experienced non-executive input, credible forecasting, and a willingness to invest in controls as the business grows are all strong signals of long-term intent. As companies scale, a bank’s confidence increasingly comes from “leadership teams that professionalise ahead of complexity.” The most compelling leaders “retain founder ambition while embedding rigour. When teams can articulate both their growth vision and their risk mitigations with clarity, it gives confidence that the company is being built for scale and resilience.” 

David shared that NatWest invest in and partner with technology startups where strategic value can be unlocked for their customers, the startup and NatWest Group. “Whilst we typically start with defined experiments to co-build conviction at speed, we plan for how this can scale from the outset.  This ambition contributes to why we factor in leadership when assessing opportunities. How respective teams work underpins what we can achieve for our customers and colleagues.

How does organisational structure impact fundraising more generally?  

Maria suggests that whilst expectations evolve from stage to stage, the core principles stay the same. “A fintech should present a team that’s well organised to investors, clear on responsibilities, and made up of credible people with relevant experience who understand their own skill gaps. The team should balance themes of growth and risk with risk functions positioned as a growth enabler vs. a blocker.”

In early-stage fundraising, it’s about demonstrating clarity of accountability and complimentary skills within the founding team. Investors will want straightforward answers to questions like “Who will be CEO?”. They will favour balanced teams where founders bring complementary strengths. This means a balance typically across technical and commercial disciplines.

What does this mean at different funding stages?

Raising capital also means having a clear plan for how the money will be used. At Series A and B, that often includes a hiring roadmap that shows how you’ll plug key capability gaps, tackle critical new markets and deal with increased regulatory scrutiny.   

At later stages, the focus shifts to scale. Investors expect strong operators leading the core functions, particularly finance, revenue and technology. Maria added, “They’ll look at where people have worked and whether they’ve been part of successful scale-ups, but brand names alone won’t cut it. What matters most is proven success at the stage you’re operating at.” 

When asked why investors are scrutinising leadership teams more than ever, Rezso Szabo, General Partner at Illuminate Financial, said: “AI has created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for founders, but it has also dramatically increased investor expectations. To compete at this level, founders must demonstrate rapid team-building momentum and present a visibly well-rounded leadership team, often with already established credibility. It also means that fundraising is becoming harder for teams that don’t fit this narrow VC mould.” 

Executive team structure should be a priority for fintechs

Banks are placing greater weight on governance and resilience. At the same time, investors are scrutinising team quality as a key decision factor. This means fintechs can no longer afford to treat organisational structure as an afterthought.

If you’re a fintech or fintech investor aiming to strengthen bank partnerships and optimise your board composition, connect with us here.