Revolut hires TSB veteran as operations head

Revolut has hired banking veteran Richard Davies as its chief operating officer, as the digital bank bids to improve its customer service after adding millions of customers.

Davies (pictured) leaves his position as TSB's commercial banking director after just 18 months, and started at the London-based app-only bank this week, according to his LinkedIn page.

His move comes as Spanish-owned TSB has overhauled its management team in recent weeks under new chief executive Debbie Crosbie. Alicante-based Banco Sabadell bought TSB for £1.7bn in 2015.

Davies has worked in senior positions at HSBC and Barclays and also spent nine months as chief executive of profitable small business challenger bank OakNorth, leaving in 2014.

Lax controls

Revolut, which has a Lithuanian banking license, is one of the biggest names among European fintechs. Since its launch in 2015, the startup has attracted five million customers and raised more than $336m in funding, boasting a valuation of $1.7bn. 

However, the bank founded by former Credit Suisse trader Nik Storonsky, and former Deutsche Bank systems engineer Vlad Yatsenko, has come under criticism that its rapid growth has led to lax controls.

This year it has faced questions from regulators over its money-laundering controls, recorded the highest number of customer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service for a digital bank, and taken pot shots from former employees about a toxic work atmosphere as its drives for growth.