UK digital bank Monzo reports first profitable year
BENGALURU — British digital bank Monzo reported revenue above £1bn for the first time and a sharp rise in annual pretax profit on Monday, driven by strong growth in personal and business customer numbers.
The fintech company, which is reportedly gearing up for an initial public offering, posted a pretax profit of £60.5m for the year ended March 31 2025, compared with £13.9m a year earlier.
Financial year 2024 marked the company’s first profitable year.
The mobile app-based bank, launched in 2015, is one of several digital banks that have emerged in Britain to challenge the dominance of HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest — the country’s Big Four. Reuters
S&P 500 index target lifted on improved US outlook
BENGALURU — RBC on Monday raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 index to 5,730 from 5,550, reflecting a modestly improved US economic outlook and stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.
The S&P 500 index ended May with its biggest monthly increase since November 2023 as US President Donald Trump’s softening tariff stance, upbeat earnings and tame inflation data helped markets recover from their April lows.
Last month, Goldman Sachs and UBS Global Wealth Management raised their S&P 500 targets. Reuters
British lenders approve fewer house mortgages
LONDON — The number of mortgages approved by British lenders for house purchase fell more than expected to 60,463 in April from a downwardly revised 63,603 in March as the market adjusts to higher purchase taxes, Bank of England (BoE) data showed on Monday.
Earlier government data showed that British house purchases surged in March to take advantage of the final month of an exemption from purchase taxes for many buyers, before slumping in April. Mortgage approvals tend to be given about a month before purchases complete.
Monday’s BoE data showed that net mortgage lending fell by £759m in April — the largest monthly drop since January 2024 — after a £12.957bn rise in March. Reuters
Ethiopian Airline shopping around for new aircraft
NEW DELHI — Ethiopian Airlines is looking to order at least 20 to 30 jets that could seat about 100 passengers as it moves to expand its regional fleet and replace some ageing aircraft, the airline’s CEO said on Monday.
“On the 100-seater aircraft category, we are evaluating three aircraft models, the E-2 from Embraer, the A220 from Airbus, and the 737 MAX 7 from Boeing,” Mesfin Tasew Bekele said in an interview. Reuters
Standard Chartered appoints former HSBC banker
SINGAPORE — Standard Chartered has appointed Yusuf Demiral as its global head of wealth and retail banking data, analytics and AI, it said in a statement on Monday.
Yusuf, who has more than 25 years of banking experience, was most recently group head of data analytics and customer relationship management for wealth and personal banking at HSBC.
He will join Standard Chartered on July 7 and be based in Hong Kong, reporting to Samir Subberwal, the bank’s global head of wealth solutions, deposits and mortgages, and chief client officer. Reuters
Vietnam Airlines set to finalise Boeing order
NEW DELHI — Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will “very soon” finalise a provisional order for 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets that it made in 2023, a company executive said on Monday.
The carrier will need up to 100 new narrow-body aircraft by 2035 to expand operations and replace existing aircraft, the executive said, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak with media.
Export-dependent Vietnam is under pressure from Washington to buy more US goods to avert tariffs. Reuters
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