Richard Branson Targets The Banks

This week, Virgin Money, a tiny British bank announced plans to sell shares on the London Stock Exchange.  Entrepreneur, Richard Branson used social media to sweet-talk investors into buying his dream of beating the Big Five banks at their own game.  He promised to operate Virgin Money at lower costs than bigger rivals.  And he vowed never to get involved in the scandalous behaviour that caused the financial crisis of 2008 -9.

One of Branson's strongest supporters is the British government.  It hopes that Virgin Money and smaller banks can  break the dominance of the Big Five, which control most of Britain's retail-banking markets.  The government also expects Virgin Money and others to push cheaper credit into the economy.

Today, Virgin Money operates 75 branches and only has a market share of 1.6%  for mortgages and 1.4%  for savings.  But Branson thrives on competition.  He loves to challenge the "Big Boys".  And his successes have so far outnumbered his failures.  Who knows what Britain's financial landscape will look like in 5-10 years.  Don't be surprised if Virgin Money is one of the "top dogs"  in the pack.