Fed up with modern finance and Britain’s broken banking system, Anne Boden decided there was only one thing to do: set up a bank that ran in the way she wanted it to
The first time I met Anne Boden was last December at a glitzy awards ceremony where I knew no one, felt out of place and was skulking in the loos. In she bustled – she’s smaller than me (I’m 5ft 1in), older than me (she’s 60), a little eccentric and perhaps the friendliest person in the place. She didn’t stop talking. She ushered me out, remained by my side until the ceremony started (think Disney’s Fairy Godmother) and, along the way, mentioned that she was the founder and CEO of Starling Bank, the event’s main sponsor.
I couldn’t have been more surprised – or picture a less likely “banking mogul”. When she explained that Starling was an app-based bank, I rewarded her with the worst response possible. “You mean like Monzo?” (My daughter had signed up to Monzo, the trendy “no branches” bank, to acquire its distinctive coral-coloured card, which now gathers dust on her bookshelf.) Boden was gracious but flustered. I ascertained that Monzo had been founded by her former business partner Tom Blomfield. He was considerably younger, more hip, more Hoxton – and he’d left her, taking the other directors with him.
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