Starling Bank has acquired buy-to-let mortgage lender Fleet Mortgages.
In Brief:
Fleet currently has around £1.75bn worth of mortgages under management.
This is the first time Starling has moved into the mortgage space.
It has already partnered with other non-bank lenders like Funding Circle and Zopa.
What does this mean?
Starling Bank will now be the sole funder of Fleet’s mortgages using its deposit base. Fleet’s management team won’t change as part of the deal.
Recently Starling founder Anne Boden said the FinTech was “pulling away” from other FinTechs as a licenced bank, and the acquisition – when many FinTechs hope to be acquired themselves – could be evidence of this strategy.
