High rates propel Atom Bank to first-time profit

Charlie Conchie

ATOM BANK has notched its first full year of operating profit after jacking up its savings rates and nearly doubling its customer base over the past year.

In its full year accounts announced yesterday, the fintech reported a £4m operating profit for the year –up from a loss of £2m 12 months ago – as its customer base nearly doubled to 224,000.

The update marks the first full year of profitability for the bank co-founded by former HSBC and First Direct executive Mark Mullen and Metro Bank founder Anthony Thomson after nine years.

In a statement, Mullen said it had been an “important” year for the firm: “We’ve grown strongly, kept our costs tight and delivered our first annual operating profit,” he said.

“We’ve also passed on more than 70 per cent of the Bank of England’s base rate increases to our savers but only 70 per cent of them to our Standard Variable Rate mortgage borrowers.”

Banks have been in the firing