Starling Bank sets sights on US expansion
Starling Bank has set its sights across the Atlantic for future growth prospects as the UK fintech eyes a US banking licence or entering the market through an acquisition.
The neobank took a £223m hit to profit in 2024, down from £301m in the previous year and has since scouted endeavours overseas to boost its standing.
Raman Bhatia, chief executive, had previously said the North American market offered a “huge opportunity” as he targeted revenues of £100m in the “short to medium term.”
Engine – Starling’s banking-as-a-service (BaaS) product – has been viewed as central to its competitive edge.
The division’s contribution to group income was a modest £8.7m in 2024, but this marked a 284 per cent year-on-year increase.
Starling’s chief financial officer Declan Ferguson told Sifted if it was to acquire a US lender, it would re-platform the bank through its SaaS arm as a case study for the technology.
“I think there is a really interesting opportunity to own and operate a regulated bank in the US,” Ferguson said.
He added that the Trump administration had helped provide a “vast and deep pool of opportunity” that wasn’t there two years ago.
Fallen Starling behind Monzo and Revolut
Whilst the fintech’s finance boss said it was not clear what services they would lean towards in the US, he said they would look to “mirror a significant part of our UK banking operations”.
The neobank’s peers Monzo and Revolut previously withdrew their applications for a US banking license in 2021, opting to operate in the country through a partner bank. Starling is the only member of the trio yet to branch out from the UK.
The firm has had a series of headaches in the last year as it began to lag behind its rivals rapid growth.
The Financial Conduct Authority slapped the fintech with a £29m fine after “shockingly lax” regulatory failings.
The fintech opened over 54,000 accounts for 49,000 “high-risk customers” between September 2021 and November 2022, according to the City watchdog.
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.