Saturday, November 23, 2024

UK digital bank Monzo plans Irish base as it targets expansion across the EU

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The online-only bank reported its first ever annual profit on Monday. It launched in 2015.

Monzo also revealed that it is in the early stages of opening an office in Dublin, which it described as a “gateway” to expand across the EU.

It did not give a date for when the Dublin office will open.

But it said it is set to launch in the “coming months”.

The mobile app-based bank has just under 10 million customers in Britain and is also preparing to launch in the US.

Last year, Monzo hired Irishman Conor Walsh to head its planned US business. Mr Walsh is a fin-tech veteran, having held a senior role at US money transfer service Cash App, part of Jack Dorsey’s Block (formerly Square), as well as roles in Europex.

In its home market, Monzo provides current accounts, personal loans, credit cards and savings products, as well as what is regarded as a market-leading digital experience for users of its app.

It includes savings pots created over the past year, where customers can put money aside for a specific goal, or round up everyday spending and put the cash in a “piggy bank”.

That helped customer deposits to soar by 88pc to £11.2bn (€13.1bn) over the year.

However, expected credit losses surged by 75pc year on year, to £176.9m.

The increase was driven by a bigger overall lending book but also an increase in customer arrears amid the wider cost-of-living crisis, the bank said.

Monzo has grown more slowly than rival Revolut, and has focused until now only on its home market, where it has secured a full banking licence.

It is backed by venture capitalists and investors including former Google boss Eric Schmidt, and a fund backed by Google parent Meta.

Chief executive TS Anil said that the 12 months to the end of March 2024 had been a “landmark year of record growth” for the bank, as he reported a pre-tax profit of £15.4m for the year to the end of March, compared with a pre-tax loss of £116.3m the previous year.

It benefited from higher interest rates over the year, in common with most banks.

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