Latest news with #DeclanFerguson
Finextra
2 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Starling rolls out AI-based 'Spending Intelligence' tool
Starling Bank is putting Generative AI into the hands of its customers with the roll out of a new 'Spending Intelligence' Large Language Model that customers can interrogate to get insights into their spending habits. 0 Starling's chatbot, built on Google's LLM Gemini, is being rolled out to all customers from today. Spending Intelligence operates within a search bar on the Starlingg app, enabling customers to post questions about their spending over a specific period of time, such as 'how much did I donate to charity last year?' ot 'what did I spend on groeries last week?'. Questions can either be typed into the search bar or customers can ask the chatbot verbally. Starling finance chief Declan Ferguson, says: "Really pleased to be the first UK Bank to putting generative AI in the hands of our customers. This feature, powered by Google's Gemini, is our first step towards a bigger ambition to implement AI within our banking app to all customers." Speaking at Money20/20 last week, Ferguson said the bank intends to hire another 400 software engineers this year asit accelerates the development of AI across the organisation.
CNBC
28-05-2025
- 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.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK fintech Starling's profit tumbles as regulatory failings linger
UK fintech veteran Starling recorded a drop in annual profit for the financial year as it battled with a more competitive fintech landscape and mounting costs. The neobank recorded £223m in pre-tax profit, which was down from £301m the previous year. This came as operating costs ramped up to £403m, from £332m, helping offset modest revenue growth of £32m to £714m. Starling cited staff costs as a major expense factor, with it surging 31.8 per cent to £303.7m. The fintech's increase in average headcount jumped 708 to 3,939. Engine – the company's software-as-a-service (SaaS) subsidiary – was outlined as a key driver for ramping up staff numbers. The operations's fee income contribution to the group was £8.7m which marked a 284 per cent year-on-year increase. The group said profit was also hit by 'legacy matters' which were resolved over the last 12 months. Underlying profit was £281m, still marking a drop from its previous performance. The fintech was slapped with a £29m fine by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2024 after 'measures to tackle financial crime did not keep pace with its growth.' The City regulator called the firm's failings 'shockingly lax'. The FCA found the bank had opened more than 54,000 accounts for 49,000 'high-risk customers' between September 2021 and November 2022. The fine was reduced from £40.96m after Starling agreed to resolve the issues. In its report, Starling said it had recruited Darren Pope to its board, to bring his 'in-depth understanding of financial and risk matters' due to his experience at Lloyds Banking Group and TSB Bank. Declan Ferguson, the group's finance boss, said: 'We continue to make significant investment into our financial crime resource to ensure our risk management and compliance capabilities are commensurate with the high growth experience.' David Sproud, Starling's chair, said the firm had a 'resilient financial performance amid challenging markets.' The fintech hit a record high in open accounts of 4.6 million, a ten per cent increase on the prior year. But this halved the momentum of the previous year, when new accounts jumped 20 per cent. Customer deposits topped a record-breaking £12.1bn, increasing from £11bn. Raman Bhatia, group chief executive, said: 'These results represent an important milestone, marking the Group's fourth consecutive year of profitability and revenue growth. 'This performance derives from our commitment to providing customers with innovative banking solutions and exceptional service. We are particularly pleased with Starling Bank's success in attracting new customers, as evidenced by the continued growth in our deposit base and open accounts.' Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
