Latest news with #Starling
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas offers 2027 WR committed to Houston
Texas offers 2027 WR committed to Houston The Texas Longhorns hosted a plethora of top recruits around the country for their Elite Camp over the weekend. One of them was three-star Aden Starling who attends Shadow Creek High School in Pearland, Texas. Since last October, Starling has been committed to the Houston Cougars. However, in today's landscape of college football, the recruiting game never ends until a recruit signs. Having said that, Texas extended an offer to Starling before he left Austin. Starling is the No. 440 overall recruit in the country and the No. 58 wide receiver per 247Sports composite rankings. They also have the 6-foot, 175-pounder as the No. 54 player out of Texas. The word on Starling is that he's a polished route runner who has great get-off on the line of scrimmage. That was certainly the case during the Elite 11 Austin Regional in March where Starling was named one of the top performers. It would behoove the Longhorns to get Starling back on campus soon if they want to flip his commitment. Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on X (Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscience
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Starling Bank: The rise and fall of a fintech darling
Over a decade ago three fintechs entered the banking scene and set their sights on reshaping its landscape. Starling, Monzo and Revolut rapidly expanded as they leveraged modern tech to streamline banking operations, enhance consumer experience and disrupt traditional financial models. The trio of fintech darlings ballooned customer bases in record numbers. But as two continued their charge, one faltered. Revolut topped £1bn in profit this year as its customers surpassed 50m – even beating Europe's biggest lender HSBC. Meanwhile, all eyes are on Monzo as the firm gears up for a blockbuster £6bn IPO on the London Stock Exchange. But whilst its peers live the fintech dream, Starling's fantasy has turned into a nightmare. The neobank's profit tumbled to £223m in 2024, down from £301 the previous year. This came as operating costs ramped up to £403m, from £332m, helping offset modest revenue growth of £32m to £714m. Starling's troubles were driven by a £29m fine handed to it by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The City regulator slammed the firm's regulatory failings as 'shockingly lax' after its 'measures to tackle financial crime did not keep pace with its growth'. The fintech opened over 54,000 accounts for 49,000 'high-risk customers' between September 2021 and November 2022, according to the FCA. Starling was also forced to set aside a £28.2m provision in its 2025 accounts after identifying a group of pandemic-era loans that failed to meet a key guarantee requirement. These loans were issued under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), a UK government initiative launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to support small businesses with fast, low-interest loans backed by government guarantees. But because some loans did not meet eligibility or compliance criteria, Starling chose to remove the government guarantee and absorb the potential losses itself. David Sproul, chair of Starling's board, said the firm had 'resolved some important legacy matters' in the last year. The regulatory burden is bound to weigh on Starling's reputation and notably came as the firm enlisted its first chief marketing officer. Michele Rousseau was tasked with handling the fintech's brand and reputation as its turmoil deepened over the last year. Her appointment followed reports of a staff exodus after Raman Bhatia, who took the helm in 2024, ordered staff back to the office for 10 days each month despite not having office space to hold all employees. The business's headcount ballooned in the last 12 months, with staff costs topping £304m. However, this came as momentum on the customer side began to slow. The number of open accounts increased by ten per cent to 4.6m, but this was half the amount of growth made in the previous year. Meanwhile, in 2024 Monzo's customer base jumped 31 per cent to 9.7m and its customer deposits swelled 88 per cent to £11.2bn. The firm is expected to post its latest annual report in a matter of weeks. John Cronin, founder of Seapoint insights, said: 'Starling has no choice but to move up the risk curve – and this isn't something we learned today or yesterday either.' 'Its limited scale and consequent lack of operating leverage, high risk weights (standardised credit risk modelling) and relatively higher deposit funding costs mean it just cannot compete with mainstream banks. But that cuts to the heart of the business model – what competitive advantages does Starling have?' The fintech may hope its competitive edge will come in the form of Engine – the company's software-as-a-service (SaaS) subsidiary. Engine's contribution to group income was a modest £8.7m, but it marked a 284 per cent year-on-year increase. The company looks to be throwing its full weight behind the division with plans for expansion across the US. Raman Bhatia, chief executive, said the North American market offered a 'huge opportunity' as he eyed revenues of £100m in the 'short to medium term.' It's no surprise the firm's boss is betting big on the new venture — because if it fails, Starling may risk losing more than just fintech darling status. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Starling's profits dip 25% as bank takes blame for Covid loan losses
Digital bank Starling has suffered a 25% drop in annual profits and announced it would turn down government guarantees on £28m of Covid loans losses after conceding its own weak controls were to blame. The admission stirs up a long-running controversy over Starling's handling of the government-backed bounce back loan (BBL) scheme, which was built to get money quickly to small businesses during lockdown. The scheme offered loans of up to £50,000 at 2.5% interest but carried little risk, with taxpayers picking up 100% of losses if the companies defaulted. On Wednesday, Starling's chief executive, Raman Bhatia, said the bank had proactively reviewed some of the BBLs on its books, and conceded that a tranche of loans had been granted to applicants without proper checks. That meant they were unlikely to qualify for government guarantees, which might have otherwise seen taxpayers foot the £28m bill. 'In some cases, we think we may not have met all the procedures, all the requirements, of the scheme,' Bhatia told journalists during the conference call. He did not confirm whether Starling had discovered fraud or financial crime within that tranche of loans. It comes just months after Starling was hit with a separate £29m fine for 'shockingly lax' financial crime controls, which the City regulator said had left the financial system 'wide open to criminals and those subject to sanctions'. Together, the fine and BBL loss reduced Starling's profit for the year to March to £223m, down 25% from £301m a year earlier. Bhatia said the bank may consider cutting or clawing back pay from executives if appropriate. 'We have discharged our duties to consider any impact on [remuneration] where appropriate. I can't share any further details.' It is not clear whether that might impact Starling's founder and former chief executive, Anne Boden, who stepped down in 2023 citing a 'conflict of interest' between being a boss and a large shareholder in the lender. Starling's distribution of Covid loans gained heightened attention in 2022 when former minister Theodore Agnew accused Starling of using the BBL scheme as a 'cost-free marketing exercise to build their loan book and so their company valuation', and failing to properly review borrowers before handing out taxpayer-backed loans. Boden at the time vehemently denied Agnew's claims. Unlike large lenders, Starling opened BBL applications to new clients and saw its client base swell as a result. Its business customer base grew from 87,000 to 330,000: equivalent to adding 15,000 a month. And while the bank had only issued £23m of its own loans before the pandemic in November 2019, it had distributed £1.6bn in BBLs by the time the scheme closed in March 2021. Commenting on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fine and the BBL loss on Wednesday, Starling's chief financial officer, Declan Ferguson, 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 business and experience. 'Working closely with both the FCA and the British business bank, we have also sought to limit the impact of these issues and ensure they remain one-offs, but now we are now more confident we are moving forward into the next stage of our growth on much stronger foundations.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
FF News
6 days ago
- Business
- FF News
Which Company Is The "Darling" of UK Fintech?
At this year's Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) we threw out a controversial question to attendees: 'Which company is the darling of UK fintech?' – and the answers certainly didn't disappoint. Some were unapologetically biased, like the devotee of YouLend, while others highlighted key success stories like Equals Group, trumpeted for its journey from a phone-based FX provider to a full service fintech and solutions partner for others in the fintech ecosystem. Moneybox received love for the work it has done in financial inclusion and wealth tech, demonstrating that doing good and doing well aren't mutually exclusive. In terms of brand recognition, Monzo, Starling and Revolut remain at the forefront — praised for their role in radically changing banking from the straightforward user experience first digital customers have come to expect, in stark contrast to traditional banks. Other popular mentions included Tide, the darling of SME focused fintechs, and EPS, lauded for their consistent positive contribution to the sector. Of course, some found it impossible to choose – a sign of just how thriving and competitive the UK fintech landscape has become.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Starling Bank profits slide after FCA fine and Covid loan issues
Starling Bank has revealed its annual profit fell by a quarter after being hit with a fine for weak financial crime controls and setting aside cash to cover issues with Covid bounceback loans. The bank reported a pre-tax profit of £223 million for 2024, down 26% from the £301 million made the prior year. It marks the company's fourth year in a row of profitability since launching a decade ago. The drop in profit was partly driven by Starling being fined £29 million by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority last year. The regulator described the bank's financial crime screenings as 'shockingly lax', leaving the system 'wide open to criminals and those subject to sanctions'. It was also found to have repeatedly breached a requirement not to open accounts for high-risk customers. Starling said it has learned lessons from the investigation and has built a stronger framework – but it still faces some restrictions in relation to banking with higher-risk customers. Profits were also dragged lower by the bank putting aside £28.2 million to cover a group of bounceback loans which it said 'potentially did not comply with a guarantee requirement'. Starling offered the loans to struggling businesses during the Covid pandemic as part of the Government-backed lending scheme, which guaranteed to cover any losses incurred by lenders. The bank said it agreed to remove the Government guarantee on the group of loans that had potential issues. Meanwhile, Starling revealed its revenues rose to £714 million, from £682 million in 2023, with the amount deposited by customers topping £12 billion. It also highlighted growth of its banking software platform Engine after ramping up investment and signing Salt Bank in Romania and AMP Bank in Australia as its first two customers. The London-based bank, which also has UK offices in Cardiff, Manchester, and Southampton, hired about 3,940 people on average last year – some 700 more than in 2023. This drove up staff costs by nearly a third year-on-year, while marketing spending reduced as bosses focused investment on financial crime controls. Chief executive Raman Bhatia said: 'In the last year we demonstrated our commitment to addressing legacy matters, investing in our people and capabilities so we now move forward from a position of strength. 'We will leverage our robust capital position to continue to scale our growth in the UK by helping our customers become better with money. 'We will also make great strides in turning Engine by Starling into a global success.'
