Starling Bank wants to buy a lender

Starling Bank, the digital bank steered by founder-turned-author Anne Boden, is hunting for acquisition targets in the lending market in a deal that could trigger a neobank-led wave of consolidation in the fintech sector.

Speaking exclusively to Sifted, Boden said the company is now actively searching “for lending businesses to buy”, with Europe’s non-bank lenders (including P2P firms) squarely in its sights.

A deal makes sense for Starling because the bank, more so than any other fintech business, has capitalised on the emergency lending schemes designed by the UK government to prop up struggling businesses during the pandemic’s early lockdowns.