Billionaire US investor Wilbur Ross, a long-time Virgin Money backer with a 12 per cent stake, says of the new contenders: “I don’t think this is a passing fancy. “The challenger banks have more of a rifle-shot profile, whereas the high street banks have had more of a [scattergun] approach,” he says. For him, big banks are hampered by their large number of branches, complex business models and outmoded technical infrastructure, whereas Virgin Money is a simple internet, credit card and mortgage bank, with no legacy issues and strong IT.

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