Labour peer Lord McFall, a former member of the parliamentary commission on banking standards, is joining the board of a new startup bank, Atom.

McFall was a former chair of the Treasury select committee and has previously sat on the board of NBNK, which failed to buy the so-called Verde branches from Lloyds Banking Group.

He is joining Atom as the senior independent non-executive director as it attempts to gain approval from City regulators – the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority – to launch as a digital-only bank.

It is being fronted by Anthony Thomson, founder and former chairman of Metro Bank, and Mark Mullen, who was the boss of HSBC’s offshoot bank, First Direct; it will be based in Newcastle. “Putting in place a strong board now is a key part of our journey towards authorisation and launch,” said Thomson.

Patricia Jackson, former Bank of England official and partner at E&Y, is joining the board, along with Jon Hogan, a former finance director of Australia and New Zealand bank.