International Operations
In 2003, Virgin Money launched its first venture outside of the UK by introducing its credit cards in Australia. Virgin Money Australia initially launched in partnership with Macquarie Bank Pty Ltd and added superannuation (2005) and home loans (2008) to their product suite. In 2008, Virgin Money Australia withdrew its home loan product from the Australian market due to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and the credit cards portfolio was transferred to its supplier, Westpac Banking Corporation, after the end of a 5-year agreement. In 2009, Virgin Money launched car insurance, partnering with A&G Insurance Services and also announced their strategic alliance with CitiBank, with plans to launch a suite of retail banking services in 2010.
In 2006, Virgin Money South Africa launched with a credit card initially in a partnership with ABSA.
In 2007, Virgin Money launched in the USA after the Virgin Group made a majority stake investment in CircleLending, a company that facilitated peer-to-peer loans. Virgin Money USA entered into dissolution on November 1, 2010, and is no longer listed as a Virgin property on the Virgin Money home page; the Virgin Money US site itself was also dismantled. Virgin Money subsequently withdrew entirely from the US market and its social lending servicing was transferred to its servicing partner, Graystone Solutions, which continues to service the social loans under its own brand.
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“Plot, rules, nor even poetry, are not half so great beauties in tragedy or comedy as a just imitation of nature, of character, of the passions and their operations in diversified situations.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)