One month after payment app said banking license was imminent… Regulator warned of Revolut
- The Fintech company has reported that the long-awaited license is about to be granted
- He believed the UK banking license would be granted ‘immediately’ by the FCA and PRA
- But concerns have since grown over his long-delayed 2021 accounts
Regulators are being urged to watch very closely before granting Revolut a banking license – a month after they said an announcement was imminent.
The fintech reported in early March that a long-awaited license was about to be granted by the watchdogs.
But concerns have since grown over its long-delayed 2021 accounts, while a crisis in the banking sector has raised wider industry issues.
Angela Eagle, Labor MP and member of the Treasury Select Committee, said: ‘I would be amazed if they got a banking license if they didn’t pass a lot of rigorous testing.
“These questions must be answered before obtaining a banking license.
Backhand: Vlad Yatsenko and Nikolay Storonsky of Revolut
“Getting a banking license is not easy and you cannot scam the tests. There is a worrying backdrop to all of this which I think means regulators will be very careful. I would expect the highest work to be done.
Last night, 30 days after saying a UK banking license would be imminent, a Revolut spokesperson said: ‘We are not commenting on pending regulatory applications. Gary Greenwood, banking analyst at Shore Capital, said: “I would be amazed if the regulator granted them a banking license in their current situation.”
“They seem to be a bit accident prone at the moment.”
A month ago Revolut – worth £28billion at its latest valuation – announced its first-ever profit, of £26million, for 2021, as turnover tripled for reach £636 million during the cryptocurrency boom.
He believed a UK banking license would be granted “immediately” by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). These results were released after months of delay, missing the December 31 deadline.
They were soon to collapse as auditor BDO said £477m of revenue – around three-quarters of its turnover – could not be verified and may have been misreported. Revolut later denounced what it described as a “misrepresentation” of the auditor’s opinion, but it may have backfired, with the Financial Times reporting that some independent board members administration viewed the statement as an “overreaction.”
Meanwhile, a crisis in the banking sector that has cost the heads of a series of American lenders and the 167-year-old Credit Suisse has intensified surveillance of the financial sector and pressured regulators to bring them under control. potential risks.
Regulators will not comment on the progress of Revolut’s application. But they are certain to have looked at the 2021 results and to have noted the reservations of BDO.
Earlier this week, an all-party parliamentary group made a forceful intervention on Revolut’s candidacy.
Heather Buchanan, the APPG’s Executive Policy Director on Fair Business Banking, said: “I would be completely stunned if Revolut were welcomed into licensed banking.”
“We could let in a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I don’t think that would end well for the sheep at all.”
