Starling boss accused of ‘one-sided’ account over Monzo split

The boss of Starling Bank has been accused of a “one-sided” attack on former colleague Tom Blomfield in her account of a split between the two which sparked the creation of rival online lender Monzo.

Starling chief executive Anne Boden was criticised by Monzo’s former chairman Baroness Kingsmill for raking over the details of the row in a tell-all memoir.

Ms Boden and Mr Blomfield worked together at Starling until February 2015, when he left to launch Monzo. The two banks now have 6 million customers between them.

In a new book, Banking On It: How I Disrupted an Industry, Ms Boden claims that Mr Blomfield “engineered what was nothing less than a coup” when he walked out of Starling Bank along with around 10 other employees. Ms Boden also claims he sulked when asked to wear a jacket at meetings.

Mr Blomfield has said he has a legal agreement bars him from discussing what happened with the press.

Baroness Kingsmill — who was originally approached by Ms Boden to chair the fledgling Starling Bank but left along with Mr Blomfield — said: “In all start-ups there are strong personalities, and conflicts can emerge.

“It’s in the best interests of everyone to resolve these quietly. Anne’s position is very one-sided and I would always advise discretion.”

“I think Tom is a brilliant entrepreneur and I enjoyed my time as chair of Monzo enormously. I admire all entrepreneurs who have the courage, commitment and talent to undertake a start-up, especially in such a highly regulated and established sector as banking.”

The peer, a former deputy chairman of the competition commission, stepped down from Monzo in 2019 but remains a shareholder in the business. Former Northern Rock chief executive Gary Hoffman currently chairs the digital bank.

Insiders told The Telegraph that there was an “unbelievably chaotic” atmosphere inside Starling Bank during the crisis five years ago.

Ms Boden said: “I have written a book about the story of Starling Bank. This is my story. It’s a book about entrepreneurship and starting a business that has gone on to disrupt a whole sector.”