Declan Ferguson is Group Chief Financial Officer of Starling, the London, England, digital bank. He joined in 2017 as Head of Strategy and became Chief Strategy Officer before moving into finance. "We grew platform accounts and kept our focus on customer quality during the year," he said of FY26. Read our review of Starling Bank.
Restructuring European Banks at PwC
He trained as a chartered accountant with the ICAEW at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he worked on financial services across audit, valuation, and corporate finance. Later he led engagements in the turnaround and restructuring of European banks and worked on large loan portfolio and credit transactions for UK and European banks, Starling says.
Running Starling's Finances
As Group Chief Financial Officer he manages the group's financial operations and is responsible for its financial management. His remit also covers strategic growth in the UK and abroad, M&A and corporate development, capital raising and allocation, investor relations, and longer-term financial planning.
Buying Ember and Reading the FY26 Results
In the year to March 2026, Starling bought Ember, an all-in-one accounting and tax platform. "We were able to acquire Ember, a brilliant business which has already enhanced our SME offering," he said, adding that a surplus of more than $669M leaves Starling "well placed to pursue further organic and inorganic growth opportunities," per the results announcement.
He also pointed to sector-leading revenue per active user of about $368.
