Starling Bank: The rise and fall of a fintech darling Fintech 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 [...]
Over 800 directors have been disqualified for abusing Covid loan scheme COVID LOANS More than 800 directors have been disqualified for abusing Covid support schemes over the 2023-24 financial year following investigations by the Insolvency Service.
UK rips up state guarantees on nearly £1bn of Covid loans Politics The UK government has scrapped guarantees on nearly £1bn of bank loans handed out to ailing businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving lenders on the hook for some of the borrowings that will not be repaid.
Fast growth tech firms won’t wait for the glacial pace of British politics September 22, 2023 Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget was a disaster, but he was right about the sluggish way government deals with tech.
Taxpayer foots bad Covid loan bill of £7.4bn amid ‘uncomfortable level of fraud’ September 14, 2023 The government has already had to foot a £7.4bn bill to settle bad loans while banks have claimed a further £1.13bn under the schemes.
Funding Circle chief Lisa Jacobs: Lending through a crisis – and looking toward the US September 14, 2023 It’s not been a quiet few years for small business lenders. When covid struck in 2020, a host of non-banks found themselves thrust into the public consciousness alongside the big High Street lenders as small companies scrambled for a cash lifeline through lockdowns. The reception was a largely positive one; some even took on something [...]
Funding Circle slides to loss as weak economy and end of Covid loans hit lending September 7, 2023 Funding Circle swung to a loss in the first half of the year as a sluggish UK economy and the winding down of government-backed Covid loans continued to drag on the small business lender’s bottom line. The London-listed fintech posted a pre-tax loss of £16.6m in the six months to June, against a profit of [...]
Less than two per cent of £1bn lost to Covid fraud recovered in three years September 6, 2023 Ministers have only recovered around £20m of the more than £1bn lost to Covid fraud in the three years since the start of the pandemic.
Alison Rose: How the first woman to lead a major British bank ran Natwest July 26, 2023 Dame Alison – or just Ms Rose as she was at the time – made history in 2019 when she became the first woman to take the top job at one of the UK’s big four banks. She took over a bank from New Zealander Ross McEwan, which had stabilised after the financial crisis nearly [...]
British Business Bank chief Louis Taylor on risk: ‘Even if the worst happens, you learn’ July 20, 2023 For a man running a bank that has found itself at the centre of a fraud storm over the past two years, Louis Taylor talks warmly about the concept of risk. The state-owned British Business Bank he now runs shot to household-name status through the pandemic and enjoyed a moment in the sun as the [...]