Starling Bank's chief executive and founder Anne Boden is stepping down from her role next month, the company said today, signalling a new chapter for one of Britain's fastest-growing challenger lenders.
Starling's chief operating officer, John Mountain, will take over as interim CEO when Boden exits on June 30, the bank said.
This comes as it reported a leap in full year pretax profit to £195m from £32m the year before.
Boden, who owns 4.9% of Starling, said she was stepping down to ensure there was no conflict of interest between being a large shareholder and chief executive.
Boden told a media call her dual role was not an issue raised by regulators.
Starling reported its first annual pretax profit last year. Its growth accelerated during the pandemic as it expanded its business lending through state-backed emergency schemes.
Its lending business had increased by 47% in the year to March 31, driven by a growth in its mortgage-book.
Britain's digital finance firms are under pressure to show profitability, as higher interest rates have made fundraising more difficult.
The failure of US-based technology lender Silicon Valley Bank heaped fresh scrutiny on the stability of start-up banks in the current economic environment, with speculation about a flight to quality weighing on the sector.
Boden has previously said an IPO could come "maybe in 2023, probably in 2024".
She said today that there is "no hurry" for an IPO due to the market environment.
"Nobody's doing IPOs at the moment, the market's closed," she said. "We can just hold tight until the environment is right for a listing."
