Starling Bank chief Anne Boden to step down amid record profit

Anne Boden is stepping down arsenic main enforcement of Starling Bank, 9 years aft founding the company.

The Welsh businesswoman said it was the close clip to measurement speech arsenic it reported a grounds pre-tax nett of £195m, a six-fold summation connected the erstwhile year.

She volition measurement down connected 30 June, but volition enactment connected the committee and inactive part-own the company.

With nary branches, it prides itself connected its app and lawsuit service.

Ms Boden announced her departure arsenic the slope published its latest profits for 2022-23.

Revealing her volition to permission successful an exclusive interrogation with BBC Wales, Ms Boden said: "It's thrilling. When I look backmost astatine however I started Starling, I ne'er thought we would get to this stage.

"Starling is bigger than conscionable 1 person, it is bigger than a founder-led organisation. It is simply a portion of infrastructure that is important to the UK. We supply a existent relation successful society."

Ms Boden, 63, said it was "not truly appropriate" for Starling to proceed to person a shareholder arsenic its main executive. She inactive owns 4.9% of the institution and keeps a spot connected the committee arsenic a non-executive director.

Starling Bank said it has begun a planetary hunt for a caller main executive, with main operating serviceman John Mountain becoming interim main executive.

Starling has grown steadily from its archetypal basal of idiosyncratic customers, adding concern accounts and acquiring a owe book, partially owed to its acquisition of Fleet Mortgages.

"People ne'er believed that a 5ft gangly Welsh pistillate successful her mid-50s could bash thing that had ne'er been done before," she said.

"I had go ashamed to beryllium a banker, I was ashamed to beryllium portion of that full authorities that had fto the state down.

"I wanted to bash thing different, I wanted to recovered a slope that was truly bully for customers, that was fair. And radical ne'er believed I could bash it and beryllium profitable.

"So present we are, we person done it, impervious positive."

Ms Boden said Starling Bank would proceed to turn and believes it tin instrumentality much customers from the older, much established banks.

Starling volition yet database itself connected the banal exchange, she said.

Listing a steadfast connected a banal speech takes it from being a backstage to a nationalist company, with investors capable to bargain and merchantability shares connected circumstantial exchanges. Companies usually database connected banal exchanges to summation entree to a wider scope of investors.

"It's not going to beryllium this year, but yet Starling volition list," she said.

"It volition beryllium astatine the close time."

As a effect of her occurrence with Starling, she has go a relation exemplary for women successful finance. She chairs a UK authorities task unit that aims to boost the fig of women launching fast-growing businesses.

"When women get the investment, erstwhile women get the chance, they tin pb large companies and pb those companies to success," she said.

Asked for her proposal for a pistillate from her location municipality of Neath who whitethorn privation to commencement a business, she said perseverance was required.

"However, unless you start, you ne'er know."