SME specialist neobank Judo has announced co-founder David Hornery will succeed incumbent Peter Hodgson as chair.

Hornery, who joined the Judo Bank board in 2021, will assume the chairmanship at the end of February, with Hodgson announcing he will step down after eight years in the role.

The Judo co-founder and former co-CEO, who boasts more than 35 years within Australia’s commercial and investment banking sector, including senior roles at NAB, ANZ and Macquarie Bank, said he was “honoured” to take on the role of the bank he helped bring to life in 2016.

After five years as co-chief executive, Hornery shifted onto the Judo board in 2021, overseeing the board risk committee and the board audit committee.

Hornery said he was “honoured” to serve as Judo chair, declaring the lender – one of last remaining of the first generation of Australian ‘neobanks’ – “well positioned and committed to building on the momentum of recent years.”

The incoming chair also paid tribute to Hodgson for his “enormous contribution” to the growth of neobank since inception, nurturing it “from an early-stage company… to today where we are an ASX200 bank”.

“His chairmanship through the significant complexity that has characterised this period, both macro and micro, has been a cornerstone of Judo’s achievements,” Hornery said.

Hodgson, while stepping down from chair duties, will remain on the Judo board as a director, and will oversee the bank’s board risk committee.

The outgoing chair said the bank is in “strong position, both in terms of financial performance and capable leaders”, making it an “appropriate time to hand over” the reins.

“It has been a privilege to serve as Judo’s Chair since January 2017, and to have played a role in the foundational journey of the bank.

“From the early days of capital raising to our listing on the ASX in November 2021, right through to the bank we have today, serving more than 4,500 SME customers and 50,000 deposit customers and employing 550 team members – Judo has been a career highlight for me,” Hodgson said.

The bank’s latest half-year result (for HY25), released on Tuesday, showed strong growth across the board, with a reported 33 per cent increase in underlying profit (to $56.7 million), exceeding its 15 per cent growth target, as well as a positive bump in Judo’s loan book (up 9 per cent to $11.6 billion) and deposit book (also up 9 per cent to $9.0 billion), driven by a $1 billion increase in direct retail term deposit balances.