Trade finance fintech Mercore has hired Santander’s Kevin Dowling as its first chief compliance officer.

Dowling had several anti-financial crime roles during his 15 years at Santander, capping his stint in the role of head of financial crime oversight.

Mercore says Dowling “developed and implemented a global anti-financial crime framework governing trade finance” at the bank.

Dowling is based in London and reports directly to the company’s board of directors. He began in the role earlier this month.

Mercore is a new non-bank lender specialising in trade finance and compliance. The business was co-founded by Charlie Lazenby, David Stafford and Anthony Wadsworth-Hill.

The company says it is “delighted with the blend of specialist knowledge, experience and oversight that Kevin will bring to Mercore and our customers”.

The fintech says it has recently started providing finance to its early-stage customers after raising liquidity and building an anti-financial crime risk system.