Stuart brings with him 18 years of industry experience in business and consumer lending, fraud prevention and a keen interest in motor sport (he is a current UK National Drag Racing Champion.) He joins Starling from Ezbob, a leader in the Lending-as-a-Service market, where he served as Chief Risk Officer. At Ezbob, Stuart helped pioneer the use of smart technology to provide new finance solutions for the small and medium-sized enterprises that are the lifeblood of the British economy. Previously he undertook roles in risk and credit management at Barclaycard.

One of Stuart’s early tasks at Starling will be to lead the bank’s bid for an award from the RBS Capabilities and Innovation Fund. Starling has announced its intention to bid for a share of the £425 million fund, which is designed to bring more competition to the small business banking market. Starling was the first fully-licensed app-only bank to launch business accounts, entering the market in March 2018 with an innovative and hassle-free digital-only business account for entrepreneurs.

Anne Boden, founder and chief executive of Starling Bank, said: “The small business banking market has no meaningful competition. Starling is changing that and Stuart’s appointment will enable us to build on the success we have enjoyed since the launch of our business accounts last March. The RBS fund needs to back genuine disruptors, rather than established high street banks that have taken small business owners for granted for too long."

Stuart Doignie, said: “Throughout my career, I’ve worked in SME lending and risk management. I am passionate about bringing much-needed change to the SME market, delivering best in class products and customer experience. I feel like Starling are perfectly placed to lead this challenge and have already proven what can be done in a very short period of time.”

Stuart, 42, is a current UK National Drag Racing Champion and holds the record for the most concurrent Championship wins, having achieved eight titles over the past four years.