Starling has hired ex-NatWest exec Raghu Narula as chief banking officer as the UK neobank's new CEO Raman Bhatia continues to build out its C-suite following the 2023 resignation of founder Anne Boden.
Narula, a 20-year banking veteran, most recently served as managing director of customer engagement and distribution at NatWest Group. He'll be tasked with driving customers and commercial growth at the neobank as well pushing forward development and launch of new products.
The new hires follows the recent addition of ex-Expedia exec Michele Rousseau as chief marketing officer and former TSB business banking exec Adeel Hyder as managing director of Starling's SME banking division.
Starling is one of the UK’s largest neobanks — and, unlike many of its competitors, is focused solely on the UK market. It also holds the envious position of being the only consumer neobank in the UK that’s managed to stay in the black for three consecutive years. Rival Monzo reported profitability for the first time last year. In results covering 2022, Revolut sunk back into the red with a pre-tax loss of £25.4m after making a £39.8m profit the year prior. The UK neobank returned to profitability in its 2023 results.
Starling's profitability streak has also put it on the watchlist for an initial public offering, according to industry watchers. On an earnings call in June last year, however, interim CEO John Mountain chose not to give an update on its IPO intentions — but underlined its commitment to a UK listing, describing the London Stock Exchange as its “natural home”.