UK Newbank starling It saw revenues and profits decline last year as interest income declined.
The lender released him Annual report Thursday (May 21), which showed revenue falling 6% to 887 million pounds (about $1.2 billion) and pre-tax profits falling 3% to 217 million pounds (about $291 million).
Starling CFO Declan Ferguson The Financial Times described the interest rate cuts as “a headwind that almost all banks will face.” I mentioned Thursday.
Starling’s growth has also been hampered by restrictions imposed on it by the government Financial Conduct Authority The report said that in 2021 due to failures in financial crime controls. These limits prevented Starling from opening new accounts for high-risk clients.
Then in 2024, the regulator accused Starling of remaining “shockingly lenient”. Crime controls It was fined 29 million pounds sterling (about 39 million dollars).
Starling CEO Raman Bhatia He said the bank had completed a reform program with the Financial Supervision Authority, according to the report.
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Starling is still officially subject to the restrictions but will soon begin talks with the authority about lifting them, the report said.
“Certain restrictions have meant that we have decided not to actively advertise the Starling franchise in the UK… We are back now, we are investing heavily, and growth is following us,” Bhatia said, according to the report.
Ferguson appeared to reference the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as well in the company’s earnings call, saying that “certain regulatory constraints” had weakened Starling’s ability to expand its client base.
“However, the bank has now returned to growth, with (SME) account openings more than tripling in April compared to the same period last year,” he said in the annual report. “Customer quality, as measured by activity levels and average balances, remains high.”
Starling is also reportedly considering entering the banking field in the United States, either by applying for a banking license or acquisition Licensed US lender.
“We are considering both paths, although we are probably leaning more towards a takeover,” Ferguson said in September.
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