Regarding the Overdraft limit, what determines higher limit eligibility? I assume hefty amount in the account, and little/no overdraft falldowns?
I think it’s just income.
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Almost half of the £1.6 billion in state-backed pandemic loans provided by Starling Bank is either overdue or has effectively been written off, official figures show.
An analysis of £1.41 billion worth of bounceback loans issued by Starling shows that at least £761 million is in arrears, default or has already been claimed back from the government.
The whole scheme seems like an absolute car crash.
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The government should make Starling take the loss - they weren’t meant to give loans to companies who they thought would fold
I doubt the scheme has been failing elsewhere, where implemented properly
This is the government’s mistake. It was rushed because it was an emergency and this is the result.
While Starling’s bounce-back loan fraud rate was higher than other banks, at 3.5% of money lent, this was only due to the fact that Starling had been “better and quicker” at identifying fraud than its peers. “On duplicate loans, for example we uploaded lending data within days. Some other banks took months,” she said.
“I agree with Lord Agnew that we must protect taxpayer’s money,” Boden added. But “directing his anger at Starling is just wrong – we were the bank that was singled out for criticism by Treasury officials, ministers and MPs, for rejecting so many potential fraudsters”.
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Starling was quick because their lending base was smaller
Also worth mentioning that presumably that data (or a decent amount of it) is available now? Are the others at 3.5% yet?
I still believe they were a bit eager to lend here. State guarantee? Hey-ho!
Starling is quick at everything because they’re not an old dinosaur bank.
All the fraud I’ve seen mentioned can’t just be through Starling. Every bank is dealing with the same problem.
Starling get criticised for doing something every other bank does all the time. I remember at the time all the people complaining they wouldn’t give them a loan.
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So you are saying that the figures which should be filed by now on fraud, show about 3.5% for everyone, not just Starling?
Because it’s not about facing the same problem, it’s about if it’s a problem at Starling on a greater magnitude relative to their size
I want what you’ve been smoking. Interest rates went down very quickly but they’ve been going up very slowly. Seems they’re only quick when it suits
All you’re saying in the end is that Starling is doing the smart thing. All the other new banks that have increased interest rates are making a loss.
I’d need to see figures to believe they’re making a loss. They’re lending deposits out still Yknow
I’m not sure the conversation needs that, does it? 
Except at launching a credit card apparently.
They’ve been as stagnant as old dinosaurs for well over a year now IMO. Stagnant enough for me to feel comfortable closing my account without feeling like I’ll be missing anything in long term. And sure enough, so far, that’s been true.
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They brought out (free) virtual cards in the last year, which was the only thing my current account was missing. I get some people would like them to bring out a credit card - I’m one of them - but what do you think is lacking with their current account offering?
Instant access savings would be nice. Competitive savings at all. Better budgeting tools and features therein. An app refresh. It’s a really dated interface now.
There’s just lots of little things. I look at Monzo and Chase, and the cogs constantly seem to be moving. For better or worse, that’s what I want from my bank. Good toolsets require the SAAS approach, so they’re always improving.
When I look at Starling, it feels like the cog has stopped moving. There’s not much coming out of them, and the few things that do are really minor and don’t move the needle much.
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I’m thinking Starling long ago stepped out of the populist tech race. They’ve carved a comfortable furrow and built a solid business which doesn’t regard innovation competition as a metric for success.
Confident in their reputation and their position in the banking world they’ll not chase custom.
They’re back to being my core bank for income - reliable, dependable and familiar. All the fiddly stuff is done elsewhere to capture cashback.
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What you’re saying is, is that the banking market even with all the competition reforms, isn’t reformed enough. We should fix that, a bank shouldn’t be able to not compete and survive
Besides the Bank of London or other niche enterprises (for example, they hold all funds directly at BoE to avoid default risk)
What I said is, I believe, quite unambiguous. I don’t see any connection between that and your assertion.
I’ve no idea what this means. It certainly doesn’t seem to relate to my very simple viewpoint.
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I asked someone who uses Monzo about the new look and they said they wished they would stop changing things all the time.
There are plenty of people who will prefer the Starling approach.
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Anyone know if and when a Starling credit card will be launched?
Just as soon as they’ve figured out how to make a splash (and stand half a chance of turning a decent profit) in a market full of cards which are 1 or more of:
- mediocre
- loss leading
- dependent on a third party ‘co-brand’ to give the card any relevance
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