Starling Bank to expand lending through M&A
Starling Bank chief executive Anne Boden is enthusiastic about the possibilities of embedded finance and plans to expand through mergers or acquisitions of selected lending originators.
In a chief executive letter accompanying the challenger bank’s financial results, Boden said that she has seen a big shift in the power dynamic between the big banks and fintechs, spurred by the pandemic, and is enthusiastic about the potential of embedded finance which Starling Bank can take advantage of.
She has previously highlighted that the bank, which was accredited to the recovery loan scheme last month, will likely buy a lending business as it now has the capability to do so.
Read more: Starling Bank secures £50m funding from Goldman Sachs
“What people need are payment rails and safety barriers; these can be delivered in new and exciting ways,” said Boden.
“I’m particularly enthusiastic about the possibilities offered by embedded finance, the integration of financial services into non-financial customer journeys, and believe that Starling is well-placed to grab the opportunities arising from this…
“The growth of our lending has been achieved amid a strengthening of our balance sheet and our market-beating cost of funds of approximately four basis points.
“As we continue to sustainably grow our balance sheet, we plan to expand lending through a mix of strategic forward flow arrangements, organic lending across various asset classes and a targeted M&A strategy focusing on selected lending originators. Watch this space.”
Starling Bank has released its annual results and an update for the three months to the end of June, the first quarter of its financial year.
Revenues over the 12 months to 31 March 2021 increased by nearly 600 per cent to £97.6m, while loss after tax more than halved to £23.3m.
The latest trading update showed that revenue reached £42.8m in the three months to the end of June, putting the bank’s annualised revenue run rate at more than £170m.