Starling eyeing US bank acquisition

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According to Bloomberg, the mobile-only bank is looking to acquire a nationally chartered bank in the US, primarly one on the East coast with at least $2bn in assets.

Starling has already began hiring US bankers in preparation.

Earlier this year, Starling set up a subsidiary in Delaware in order to sell its Saas infrastructure to mid-tier banks across North America.

“We’ve been successful in Europe and in Australia, so now is the right time for us to start competing in the exciting North American market,” said Starling CEO Raman Bhatia at the time.

The Bloomberg report states that Starling is looking to acquire a bank with outdated tech so that it would benefit from uising Starling’s tech platform. 

Such an acquisition would mirror its banking rival OakNorth which agreed to buy Michigan-based lender Community Unity Bank in March this year.