By Charlie Conchie
Revolut has hit back at claims it is cost-cutting and labelled them “misleading and incorrect” today after reports it was in the midst of a major review of its cost base.
The $33bn valuation fintech firm said its “overall headcount budget had increased” and insisted it had announced a “hiring spree in certain teams” after bolstering staff in its crypto division across Europe.
The denials come after it was reported on Tuesday that Revolut was in the midst of cost-cutting programme called “Project Prism” and had withdrawn job offers for four graduates after a “review of business needs”.
Project Prism involves a “full, in-depth analysis of roles and responsibilities, teams, [and] seeing what consolidation they could do on the ground”, sources told the newspaper.
But a Revolut spokesperson today rebuffed the claims and said “despite allegations of cost-cutting” it was actively hiring but matching “projected headcount to our forecasted growth”.
“Any suggestion to the contrary is misleading and incorrect, despite what anonymous speculative ‘sources’ have claimed,” a Revolut spokesperson said.
Job offers
The firm confirmed it had rescinded job offers to four graduates but claimed it had added “net 300 jobs per month”.
The rebuttal comes after it was revealed on Monday that Revolut’s audit by accountancy firm BDO was criticised as “inadequate” by the Financial reporting Council and left an “unacceptably high” risk of misstatement.
Revolut has weathered a turbulent six months after being hit by an exodus of senior regulation and compliance staff, including its UK money laundering reporting officer, UK chief risk officer, UK data protection officer and UK head of regulatory compliance, City AM revealed in July. Revolut’s global head of regulatory compliance also stepped down earlier in the year.
The licensed e-money firm has been chasing a banking licence and full authorisation to provide crypto services in the UK which have not been forthcoming from the FInancial Conduct Authority.
Tensions between Revolut boss Nik Storonsky and the Financial Conduct Authority have spilled over into public in recent weeks after Nik Storonksy criticised processes and the pace of movement at the regulator on its banking licence.
In an interview with City A.M. Storonsky said the delays to banking licence progress may be caused by staff shortages and recommended that certain KPIs be put in place at the regulator, as well as “stricter timelines”, more people or “more efficient people”.
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