Chetwood Bank surpasses £5bn after strong growth July 25, 2025 Chetwood Bank’s balance sheet has exceeded £5bn for the first time, Morning Wire can reveal, after growing by £1bn in just three months. The digital challenger bank surpassed the milestone in July, with chief executive Paul Noble noting the bank’s “great growth trajectory” and expanding customer base to the rise, after the balance sheet stood [...]
British Business Bank set on delivering Labour’s growth ambition June 28, 2025 Arguably one of the biggest winners from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ latest spending splurge, the British Business Bank had its lending capacity beefed up and pledged to back the UK’s innovators with its expanded range. The bank had its funding capacity increased to £25.6bn in the Spending Review from near £15.6bn as it targets eight key [...]
High street banks’ SME lending comeback won’t rattle challengers June 20, 2025 High street banks are flocking back to small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending but face a battle against fintechs which have captured their spot. The Big Four banks have shed their market stronghold in SME lending. Research from the British Business Bank in March revealed challenger banks make up around 60 per cent of gross [...]
Will fintech banks survive falling interest rates? June 13, 2025 Fintech lenders have accelerated their swing to profitability after interest rates spiked. The UK’s neobanks pocketed record revenues in the last 12 months. Revolut’s takings grew 72 per cent topping £3.1bn. Meanwhile Monzo’s revenue hit £1bn for the first time. But this came as interest rates maintained a post-financial crisis high of 5.25 per cent [...]
Monzo boss: Our tech will help us beat the big banks June 4, 2025 The boss of Monzo said the fintech darling is ready to take the fight to traditional lenders and “bets every day of the week” on its chances. Speaking at the Money 20/20 conference in Amsterdam, TS Anil said the next decade of banking would present “a race between two sides of the industry.” Anil said [...]
Starling Bank: The rise and fall of a fintech darling May 30, 2025 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 [...]
OakNorth: Shareholders to be handed £40m as US expansion boosts profit March 6, 2025 Profit at challenger bank OakNorth has surged thanks to its expansion into the USA, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered digital bank has reported a pre-tax profit of £214.8m for 2024, up from the £187.3m it posted for the previous 12 months. Over the year, OakNorth provided more than £2.1bn in gross new lending to [...]
OakNorth boss says ‘wealth creators’ leaving UK over tax hikes December 9, 2024 The co-founder and chief executive of challenger bank OakNorth has warned that “wealth creators” are fleeing the UK over tax hikes as he accused the new government of falling short on entrepreneurship. Rishi Khosla, whose start-up bank has lent more than £10bn to businesses since launching in 2015, told Morning Wire that “even when you [...]
Coventry Building Society to take over Co-op Bank in January November 28, 2024 Regulators have given the green light for Coventry Building Society to acquire The Co-operative Bank in January as consolidation sweeps through Britain’s mid-sized banking sector. The two lenders said on Thursday that the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority had approved the £780m deal, which was agreed in May. The takeover [...]
Monzo names new finance chief in hint at listing plans November 26, 2024 Monzo has appointed former Nubank executive Tom Oldham to be its chief financial officer as the digital challenger bank hinted at its IPO ambitions.