UK mobile bank Monzo to replace CEO Anil from February

By Yadarisa Shabong and Elizabeth Howcroft

(Reuters) -British mobile bank Monzo said on Thursday that TS Anil would step down after almost six years as CEO and be replaced by Diana Layfield from February next year.

Layfield chairs development finance body British International Investment and previously worked for Google and Standard Chartered, said Monzo.

One of a handful of financial services apps known as "fintechs" to have emerged in Britain in the past decade, Monzo did not say why Anil was leaving, but he would retain an advisory role.

A spokesperson declined to comment on a Sky News report that Monzo is planning a public listing, which could value it at up to 10 billion pounds ($13.42 billion). In June, Monzo posted a sharp profit rise but said it was too soon to talk about an IPO.

Anil said in an internal statement, also posted on his LinkedIn profile, that he and Monzo's board had initially been looking for a UK CEO, but when he met Layfield and realised she could "drive the business at the global level."

"So while it wasn't in my plan, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn't miss for Monzo," said Anil, adding: "It hasn't been an easy decision for me to make because of how close this company, and all of you are, to my heart".

Monzo, which is smaller than rival Revolut, says it has 13 million customers, up from 3.9 million in 2020. It plans to expand into Europe through Ireland and grow in the U.S.

Britain's financial regulator fined Monzo 21 million pounds ($28.18 million) in July for inadequate protection against financial crime, including taking on customers who had given their addresses as Buckingham Palace and Downing Street.

($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Alexander Smith)