Starling Bank Limited Credit Rating
Starling Bank Limited does not currently have a public long-term credit rating from the major agencies, so no rating is shown here. That is common among smaller and newer UK banks and is not in itself a sign of financial weakness — ratings are typically sought by institutions that raise debt in wholesale markets. Eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks and building societies are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £120,000 per eligible person, per banking licence (the limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025). Where several brands share a single banking licence, that £120,000 limit is shared across those brands rather than applying to each one separately.
Rating History
Service record: complaints, incidents and customer survey
Complaints: in the FCA's 2025 H2 file (April 2025 to September 2025), Starling Bank received 17,323 banking and credit-card complaints, 3.62 per 1,000 accounts. The bank upheld 41% of those it closed and closed 20% within three days. The previous period was 4.52 per 1,000, so complaints fell. Compare all banks.
Outages and incidents: Starling Bank reported
0 major operational or security incidents to the FCA in the quarter to 30 June 2026 and 0 in the 12 months to 30 June 2026 (mobile app 0, online banking 0, telephone no)
Customer survey (CMA / Ipsos, August 2026): share of Starling Bank's own customers who would recommend it.
| Measure | Market | Would recommend | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online and mobile banking | Great Britain | 83% | 2 of 17 |
| Overall service quality | Great Britain | 76% | 2 of 17 |
| Overdraft services | Great Britain | 72% | 3 of 16 |
| Online and mobile banking | Northern Ireland | 84% | 3 of 12 |
| Overall service quality | Northern Ireland | 79% | 2 of 12 |
| Online and mobile banking (business) | Great Britain | 87% | 2 of 17 |
| Overall service quality (business) | Great Britain | 83% | 2 of 17 |
| Relationship and account management (business) | Great Britain | 74% | 3 of 17 |
Latest News
Is Starling safe? What the record shows
Starling has no public credit rating, so there is no agency opinion to report. What follows is the verifiable record instead: each statement is taken from the source named beneath it, last checked 12 October 2026. It is information, not advice.
Banking licence
Starling was granted a banking licence by the Bank of England in July 2016 (FCA firm reference 730166) and launched its personal current account in May 2017.
Source: Starling newsroom, 12 Oct 2026Ownership and funding
Starling is privately owned and describes itself as not owned by any other bank. Shareholders named by the bank include current and former employees, Harry McPike, Chrysalis Investments, Fidelity, Railpen, Qatar Investment Authority, Millennium Management and Goldman Sachs. Its parent is Starling Group Holdings Limited.
Source: Starling: about us, 12 Oct 2026Size
Starling had 6.2 million platform accounts at 31 March 2026 (FY25: 5.3 million). Customer deposits were £12.7 billion (FY25: £12.1 billion), an average of £4,241 per customer.
Source: Starling FY26 results release, 31 Mar 2026Profitability
Starling made a profit before tax of £217.1 million in the year to 31 March 2026 (FY25: £223.4 million) on revenue of £887.4 million (FY25: £940.0 million), its fifth consecutive profitable year; the bank cited a softening interest-rate environment.
Source: Starling FY26 results release, 31 Mar 2026Capital strength
Starling reported a capital surplus of over £525 million above its regulatory requirement as at May 2026 (May 2025: over £400 million).
Source: Starling Annual Report 2026: year at a glance, 31 May 2026Regulatory record since 2020
On 2 October 2024 the FCA fined Starling £28,959,426 for financial-sanctions screening failures (its automated system had screened only a fraction of the sanctions list since 2017) and for opening over 54,000 accounts for 49,000 high-risk customers between September 2021 and November 2023 in breach of a requirement agreed with the FCA. The fine would have been £41.0 million without a 30% settlement discount; Starling has remediation programmes in place.
Source: FCA press release, 2 Oct 2024Credit ratings
No public long-term rating from S&P, Moody's or Fitch was found in Starling's investor materials. Starling Group Holdings issued Tier 2 capital in June 2026; its admission particulars are behind an investor-access gate.
Source: Starling fixed-income investors, 12 Oct 2026Deposit protection
Eligible deposits with Starling Bank Limited are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor, with joint accounts protected to £120,000 per holder.
Source: Starling FSCS information sheet 2026, 12 Oct 2026Operational incidents
Starling's public status page listed no open incidents when checked; no outage drawing regulator comment was found.
Source: Starling status page, 12 Oct 2026Frequently asked questions about Starling Bank Limited
Is Starling Bank Limited safe?
Starling Bank Limited has no public long-term credit rating from the major agencies, so there is no rating to assess here. A missing rating is not evidence of weakness — many smaller and newer UK banks simply do not seek one. Separately, Eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks and building societies are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £120,000 per eligible person, per banking licence (the limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025). Where several brands share a single banking licence, that £120,000 limit is shared across those brands rather than applying to each one separately. This page is information about published credit ratings, not financial advice.
What is Starling Bank Limited's credit rating?
Starling Bank Limited does not have a publicly available long-term issuer credit rating from S&P, Moody's or Fitch.
Is Starling Bank Limited covered by the FSCS?
Eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks and building societies are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £120,000 per eligible person, per banking licence (the limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025). Where several brands share a single banking licence, that £120,000 limit is shared across those brands rather than applying to each one separately. Starling Bank Limited is recorded with FCA reference 730166. Because protection follows the banking licence rather than the brand, check the current position and which brands share a licence on the FSCS website before relying on it.
Who owns Starling Bank Limited?
Starling Bank Limited is owned by Private (Anne Boden, investors). Ownership matters for credit ratings because agencies often factor in the likelihood of support from a parent group, and because brands under the same banking licence share a single FSCS limit.
Is Starling a real bank?
Starling was granted a banking licence by the Bank of England in July 2016 (FCA firm reference 730166) and launched its personal current account in May 2017.
Is Starling profitable?
Starling made a profit before tax of £217.1 million in the year to 31 March 2026 (FY25: £223.4 million) on revenue of £887.4 million (FY25: £940.0 million), its fifth consecutive profitable year; the bank cited a softening interest-rate environment.
Has Starling been fined by the FCA?
On 2 October 2024 the FCA fined Starling £28,959,426 for financial-sanctions screening failures (its automated system had screened only a fraction of the sanctions list since 2017) and for opening over 54,000 accounts for 49,000 high-risk customers between September 2021 and November 2023 in breach of a requirement agreed with the FCA. The fine would have been £41.0 million without a 30% settlement discount; Starling has remediation programmes in place.
Who owns Starling?
Starling is privately owned and describes itself as not owned by any other bank. Shareholders named by the bank include current and former employees, Harry McPike, Chrysalis Investments, Fidelity, Railpen, Qatar Investment Authority, Millennium Management and Goldman Sachs. Its parent is Starling Group Holdings Limited.