Starling Bank CEO Anne Boden. Photo credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch, under Creative Commons license

Starling Bank, the UK-based digital bank, posted a pre-tax loss of £53.6 million ($70.4 million) in the year ending November 30, 2019, and revenues of £14.2 million ($18.5 million), compared to just £750,000 in the previous year, according to filings from the company. Even as the company’s losses soared last year, it, however, says it expects to break even by this year, buoyed by a spike in lending activity Starling helped facilitate emergency coronavirus financing schemes from the UK government. For this year, Starling says it now has an annual run rate of £80 million ($104 million).

“We are doing really well financially and it’s a horrible thing to say but the crisis has given us the opportunity of really spending some time to focus on getting new products out, getting new things launched and consolidating our position,” Starling’s founder and CEO Anne Boden said in a call to reporters on Thursday. “We are back on track to be profitable by the end of the year.”

Founded in 2014, Starling is one of Europe’s leading digital banks, most of whom emerged in the past decade with the aim of challenging larger and more established banks. Other notable players of its kind include the likes of Monzo, Revolut, TransferWise, and N26. Altogether, Starling has raised more than £200 million in private funding since its inception. Investors in the company include the likes of Merian Global Investors and JTC Global. Starling has also taken grants from entities affiliated with the UK government.