Global fintech M&A round-up Q1 2021
Whilst some big deals never closed in Q1, plenty others took their place.
Lending
Stilt prepares to offer US immigrants banking products and a credit history
The firm recently accrued a $100m debt facility from SVB.
Challenger Oyster Financial launches credit offering for Mexico’s SMEs
Instant credit will range from $500 to $1,500.
Indian fintech lender KreditBee boosts record Series C with extra $70m
KreditBee’s fresh funding also saw the exit of Finnov’s Chinese investors.
OakNorth Bank lands £77.6m pre-tax profit despite COVID-19 provisions
The fintech lender’s total assets now sit at £3.1 billion.
API fintech Flinks adds Levi King to turbocharge US growth
King brings funding, market entry, and growth expertise.
NatWest shutters three-year-old fintech lender Esme Loans
Esme Loans enjoyed a London Tube advertising campaign for a time.
OBR doubts impact of UK’s new infrastructure bank
The UKIB is a third of the financing provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Fintech funding deals globally 1-7 March 2021
Featuring Klarna, Papaya Global, TaxBit, Beam Technologies, and Xendit.
Greensill in crisis as regulators step in to freeze payments
BaFin ordered Greensill’s Bremen-based bank subsidiary to freeze all payments.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: Bank BRI & Infosys Finacle – Best Use of IT for Lending
Revamping customer lending through partnerships and back-office change.
American Business Bank picks Teslar Software to refresh commercial lending
The Los Angeles bank says it wanted a “forward thinking” partner.
Why the BNPL sector is growing like crazy
There is plenty of room for experiments in BNPL, and many customer segments are yet to be addressed.
Square finally launches bank after filing first application in 2017
Previously, Jack Dorsey’s fintech partnered with Celtic Bank for banking products.
Indian start-up Zaggle registers new fintech ZikZuk to offer SMEs credit
In the next two years, ZikZuk intends to take itself across the globe.
Klarna is Europe’s highest-valued fintech after $1bn raise
Klarna claims its round was oversubscribed four times over.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: AFS – COVID-19 Response by Fintech
An innovative approach to urgently find solution to accommodate the US government’s Payroll Protection Program.
Western Alliance Bank splashes $1bn on mortgage firm AmeriHome
Arizona bank diversifies its book by branching into mortgages.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: BTB – Best Use of IT in Private Banking/Wealth Management
BTB’s business model has brought annual average returns of 7% in the last seven years with low defaults.
Alpha Bank finalises €10.8bn loan portfolio sale
US fund Davidson Kempner takes on largest portfolio sale of its kind in Greece.
UK Black-owned challenger Atmen to launch in March
The start-up is now looking to raise £5 million from institutional investors.
Learning to safeguard vulnerable customers in a digital world
What’s needed is an industry-wide effort to stamp out poor practice and make services inclusive.
Aussie challenger Cape bags ex-Funding Circle CRO Rahul Pakrashi
Pakrashi says his wants “to get back” to his roots at Cape.
US federal agencies probe Amex’s SME and consumer cards sales practices
Several US federal agencies are probing American Express, according to a regulatory filing.
SoLo Funds snaps up $10m Series A for P2P lending
SoLo brought in $12m, which includes a $2.8m seed round and a series of convertible notes.
Italian neobank illimity turns €16m loss into €31m profit in a year
The neobank’s best-performing arm, by a long way, was its NPL unit.
Raiffeisen Bank to buy Czech Republic’s consumer lender Equa bank
In 2020, Equa bank’s consolidated net profit fell by 55% to $8.5 million.
Tandem Bank acquires £100m mortgage book from Bank and Clients
Private bank’s customers won’t notice the transition, claims challenger.
Philippines neobank Tonik signs credit assessment deal with FinScore
The challenger wants to extend loan applications to more underbanked Filipinos.
Fintech funding deals globally 1-7 February 2021
Featuring Stash, Built, LeaseLock, Valon Mortgage, and Metromile.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 3 | Israel’s mobile lending tech scene
Featuring Shlomi Turgeman, founder and CEO of BTB Israel.
PayKey integrates investment and loan services on mobile keyboards
Clients include Standard Chartered, UniCredit, HSBC and ING.
FCA and UK Treasury “acting swiftly” to regulate fast-growing BNPL firms
The FCA is anxious about the number of citizens who will find themselves in debt.
New funding for European fintechs Compeon and SESAMm
Germany-based Compeon lands €15 million and France-based SESAMm – €7.5 million.
Milo brings in $6m to provide US credit to international citizens
Lending start-up plans extra growth after round led by QED Investors.
Asia-Pacific fintechs Volopay and Microleap land funding
Singapore-based Volopay and Malaysia-based Microleap have raised $2.1 million and $3.3 million, respectively.
Czech BNPL Twitso nabs €16 million in Series C funding
Investors include Aussie BNPL unicorn Zip.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 1 | Innovation in commercial lending
Innovation in commercial lending with special guest, Dean Snyder, EVP at AFS.
SME credit fintech Dinie lands dLocal deal one year into Brazil play
Dinie was founded in the UK, made in Germany, and designed for Brazil.
New York cash advance app Brigit reveals $35m Series A
Brigit’s CEO is a former Deutsche Bank and Infosys executive.
