Latest news with #BBLS
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Goldman-backed Starling Bank reports 26% drop in annual profit as it flags Covid loan fraud issue
LONDON — British online lender Starling Bank on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in annual profit, citing an issue with Covid-era business loan fraud and a regulatory fine over financial crime failings. Starling, which offers fee-free current accounts and lending services via a mobile app, posted profit before tax for the year ending March 31, 2025 of £223.4 million ($301.9 million), down nearly 26% year-over-year. Revenue at the bank totalled £714 million, up about 5% from £682 million a year ago. However, that marked a slowdown from the more than 50% revenue growth Starling saw in its 2024 fiscal year. Profits for the year were impacted by a £29 million fine by the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority over failings related to Starling's financial crime prevention systems. Starling also flagged an issue with the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) that was designed to provide firms with access to cash during the coronavirus pandemic. Starling was one of several banks that were approved to lend cash to firms during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. The scheme provided a 100% guarantee to lenders, making the government responsible for covering the full outstanding loan amount if a borrower defaulted. However, Starling said it has since "identified a group of BBLS loans which potentially did not comply with a guarantee requirement" due to weaknesses in its historic fraud checks. After flagging this to the state-owned British Business Bank, the firm subsequently "volunteered to remove the government guarantee on those loans." "As a result, we have taken a £28.2m provision in this year's accounts," the bank said, referring to both the FCA fine and BBLS issue. However, Starling said it held an Expected Credit Loss provision of £800,000 as of March 31 in relation to certain BBLS loans "where the guarantee provided under the BBLS guarantee agreement may no longer be available to the Company." "This is a legacy issue which we dealt with transparently and in full cooperation with the British Business Bank," Declan Ferguson, Starling's chief financial officer, said on a media call Wednesday. Starling has operated as a licensed bank in the U.K. since 2018. It counts the likes of Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Investments and the Qatar Investment Authority as shareholders. The firm, which was last privately valued in 2022 at £2.5 billion, faces hefty competition from both incumbent banks and rival fintechs like Monzo and Revolut.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Starling Bank takes profit hit thanks to Covid loan issues and FCA fine
Starling Bank's pre-tax profits slumped 26 per cent to £223million in the year to March 2025, down from £301million the previous year. The digital bank said its profits were hit by having to set aside £28million to cover potential compliance issues on government-backed loans it issued during the pandemic. Starling also had to pay a £29million FCA fine for 'shockingly lax' financial crime controls in October last year, which impacted its profits. Revenues rose 3 per cent to £714million, up from £682million the previous year. The bank determined some of the loans it issued under the government-backed Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) 'potentially did not comply with the guarantee requirement'. The Government launched the scheme – which allowed small firms to borrow up to £50,000 with a 100 per cent guarantee from the British Business Bank, subject to eligibility – in May 2021. As a result of issuing a number of non-compliant loans, Starling volunteered to remove the government guarantee on those loans, which resulted in it having to set aside a £28.2billion provision. Raman Bhatia, chief executive, said: 'In the last year we demonstrated our commitment to addressing legacy matters.' Bhatia did not rule out a potential initial public offering for Starling. He said: 'It is logical to imagine Starling being a plc' but there are 'no firm plans' on the timeframe or location for an IPO. 'We are focused on writing the next chapter for this business.' For Starling, this next chapter involves growing Engine, its software business. Engine has been helping to expand Starling's business growth by selling its banking blueprint to start-ups around the world. It has helped launch Salt Bank in Romania in April 2024 and it now has 500,000 customers. AMP Bank in Australia was also launched using Engine's technology at the start of 2025. Selling Engine's software to launch new banks has contributed £7.8million to Starling's fee income, growing from £2.3million in the 2024 financial year. The next phases is expanding into the US. In April, Engine announced it would be launching a subsidiary in the US to expand in the North American market where there is a 'huge opportunity for Engine' Bhatia said. It believes Engine can help it achieve recurring revenues in excess of £100million in the 'short to medium term.' Starling says it had a 10 per cent increase in open accounts in the year to the end of March to take it to 4.6million. Customer deposits reached £12.1billion, up from £11billion the previous year.
Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Horrified women 'waking up with no bums' after grim BBLs in back of car
Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners for cosmetic surgery, has revealed hundreds of women have been given cosmetic surgery in a 'dingy gym, in an Airbnb, or in a car" Botched "disaster" cosmetic surgeries are being "carried out in the back of cars" across the high streets with "illegal syringes from China" leading to women "waking up with no bottom", an expert has warned. Hundreds of women across the UK are signing up for liquid Brazilian butt lifts, also known as BBLS, and liquid breast enlargements as the cosmetic industry target patients with cut-price deals on social media. However, many of the procedures are being carried out in the back of a "dingy gym, in an Airbnb or in an office space." One person was even "treated in the back of a car", according to Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners for cosmetic surgery. Ms Collins recently addressed MPs at a select women and equalities committee to demand law is passed that BBLS are only carried out by qualified surgeons - and not people posing on social media as health professionals. In December 2023, Save Face launched a campaign calling upon the government to ban high-risk liquid BBL procedures. They warned that these procedures are a crisis waiting to happen. She told The Mirror: "I know dozens and dozens of people have been treated in the back of a dingy gym, in a Airbnb or in an office space. I know one person was treated in the back of a car. These stories are not isolated to one or two individuals, these are the accounts of the vast majority of people that report liquid complaints to us. They are nearly all carried out in all manner of unsuitable places. "It's very unsafe. You need to be in a sterile especially given the type of procedure that's being carried especially if it's a BBL. They are surgical procedures that carry a great deal of risk and these procedures are being carried out by people with no healthcare experience in unsuitable rooms like hotel rooms and Airbnb's. It is an absolute recipe for disaster." According to Save Face, nearly 600 individuals have suffered devastating complications from procedures falsely advertised as being risk-free. All of these cases were performed by practitioners lacking any healthcare experience, operating in unsuitable and unsterile environments, often using unlicensed products, according to SaveFace. Alarmingly, more than 52% of individuals we assisted have contracted sepsis, and over 39% required corrective surgery - many were told at the hospital that they might not survive. Ms Collins said: "People who have not done a day of medical training are more than happy to pick up a syringe of a product that they bought from China or Hong Kong that's been illegally imported and inject thousands of millilitres into the buttocks and breasts of unsuspecting women. It's assault. "They just either ignore the person or tell them Oh, it's just a bit of bruising in a bit of swelling. Don't worry about it. You know it'll be gone within a couple of days, and obviously, in that time it progresses, and then they end up in septic shock in the hospital. We've had families being called in to say goodbye; they've been told they might not make it through the night. "They've been told that they might wake up without their legs because the abscesses are so bad; we've had tissue necrosis where the tissues died along the buttocks, and those tissues need to be surgically removed. We've had women end up with no butts at all because they've had to have them removed." SaveFace set up Alice's Law after the tragic death of 33-year-old mum Alice Webb, who tragically lost her life following a liquid BBL procedure. Alice's family endorsed the campaign for new legislation in her memory. They said: 'Alice's death has left a huge void in our family, one that can never be filled. We are devastated by the overwhelming feeling of grief, loss, and anger because her death should never have been allowed to happen. All we can do now is hope for justice. We are supporting Save Face's campaign to implement a new law in Alice's name to ensure that those responsible for her death are held accountable and to prevent any other family from having to endure this awful suffering."
