Polar Capital: Are challenger banks a real threat to incumbents?

Where is the 'Achilles' heel' for the challengers?

clock • 4 min read

John Yakas, manager of the Financials Opportunities fund at Polar Capital, examines the competitive advantages and risks for the newest players in the banking sector.

Yakas believes challenger banks offer significant opportunities for investors, as they continue to take market share from much larger incumbents, but there are also weak spots to consider. His comments come as a number of high profile investors have shown their support for challenger banks. For example, Neil Woodford, private equity investor Jon Moulton and former Goldman Sachs Asset Management chair Jim O'Neill are among those to have backed digital bank Atom, which has recently been granted its banking licence. Here, Yakas identifies the headwinds and tailwinds for these smaller pla...

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