The Future of Banking newsletter powered by Marcel van Oost

REPORT

• Are financial institutions prepared for a revolution of a $7 trillion magnitude?

Read more.

• How is USD cleared and settled in cross-border payments.

Hua Li shows how USD is cleared and settled. Assume a car manufacturer company in Japan needs to pay a car parts factory in Mexico in USD. The transactions are made through a network of correspondent banks.

Banks A,B,C,D are members of CHIPS (Clearing House Interbank Payments System), the largest private sector USD clearing system in the world.

Read more.

• Finance "Super Apps" Use Multiple Useful Features to Maintain Market Share.

In a competitive mobile market, top finance apps have continued to add new features to incentivize customers turning to their app for all finance needs, from mobile banking to sending money to trading in crypto. Super apps have become particularly popular in China, with Alipay as a prime example.

Read more.

?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

• Allica Bank completes over ￡2 billion of business lending.

The fintech challenger bank specifically focused on established businesses with over ten employees – has revealed it has completed more than ￡2 billion in lending to UK businesses, with 80% of that being to businesses outside of London.

The bank, which made its first loan on the eve of the covid lockdown in March 2020, said over 40% (￡820 million) of its total lending was achieved in 2023 alone.

Read more.

?? ARTICLE

• In Latin America, the adoption of Open Finance varies significantly.

Read more.

NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S?NEWS

?? DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS

?? HSBC installs first of ten 'Cash Pods' in town with no bank branches.

?? Nubank is set to introduce two innovative Open Finance functionalities for its clients in 2024.

?? Irish savers pile €1m a day into Bunq to beat low domestic savings rates.

?? Apple Card is helping more than 12 million cardholders.

?? REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

UK ????

Kroo Bank Launches Pots that Pay you to Save. The new feature, highly requested by Kroo customers, will make it easier for them to feel financially empowered to budget their money in 2024.

AccessPay embeds Confirmation of Payee and sanctions screening. The new capabilities will enable finance teams to avoid fraudulent and non-authorised payments, as well as accidental misdirection of funds.

LHV Bank launches into specialist landlord market. The Estonia-based lender currently offers commercial real estate investment loans and trading loans starting at ￡500,000 to small and medium-sized businesses.

GoHenry urges Government to prioritise financial education from primary school age. GoHenry has worked with experts and industry campaigners to push for change and better equip the next generations with vital money skills.

€35bn of customer deposits across Europe now held by Electronic Money Institutions. The company announces a new report on the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) market in the UK and Europe.

a.s.r. announces that it has reached an agreement to sell Knab to BAWAG Group for a total amount of € 510 million. a.s.r. believes that the future of Knab and the service proposition to its customers is better served by being part of BAWAG.

EUROPE ????

Swiss crypto neobank Sygnum lands $40m growth investment. Sygnum says it will use its new capital to expand into new markets and further develop its product suite.

The Bank of Lithuania imposed a large fine on Revolut Bank. The Bank of Lithuania fined UAB Revolut Bank EUR 200,000 for non-compliance with the large exposures limit requirement.

USA ????

Grasshopper Caps Strong Year with 83% Revenue Growth through Expansion of Small Business. Grasshopper expanded significantly in 2023 across multiple lines of business.

BNY Mellon Launches Virtual Account-Based Solutions. This marks another innovative solution designed to make money work more smoothly for treasurers globally, solving their complex payments and financing needs.

New Alloy integration expands Cable’s streamlined data integration offerings. The benefit for our customers is clear: customers using Alloy can effortlessly provide necessary data for implementing Cable.

Cross River’s Commercial Real Estate Team Achieves Strong Growth Across Diverse Asset Classes in 2023. The group’s Lender Finance, Construction and Health Care teams achieved 48%, 34% and 16% YOY growth in originations, respectively.

LATAM

Fintechs Nequi and Daviplata lead financial behavior preferences in Colombia. The main aspect incorporated in the analysis is the impact of digital-only entities, such as digital wallets and neobanks.

Tanner Banco Digital receives provisional authorization from Chile's Financial Market Commission. This allows the institution in formation to proceed with the preparation for its establishment as a banking company.

Argentina's Neobanco Ualá reached 400K users in its second year in Colombia. The entity already has more than 400 thousand users, 90 thousand of them with a PPT document, and recognizes yields of 10% E.A.

Mexico's Banorte launches digital bank bineo, a digital bank which will offer savings accounts and personal loans with the aim of adding 2.8 million new clients in the next five years.

Nubank announces its newest product developed by Nu Asset: Nu Selic Simples, with a focus on National Treasury bonds. The selection of the chosen bonds is made by Nu Asset, with choices aligned with the product’s purpose.

ASIA

Raqami Islamic Digital Bank receives approval to launch in Pakistan. Within this dynamic landscape, Pakistan emerges as a paramount market for Islamic finance products, given its substantial estimated population of 240 million.

YES Bank shares fall sharply from day's high after Q3 results. YES Bank had reported its earnings on Saturday, wherein it clocked a net profit of Rs 231 crore in the quarter ended on December 31, 2023.

Boubyan Bank signs with Snowdrop. This collaboration marks a significant leap forward in enabling users of Boubyan Bank's app to have a complete and seamless view of their financial transactions.

HelloMoney now accepted in South Korea, Malaysia, HK. HelloMoney users can now make e-wallet payments in South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong SAR, by simply scanning the QR code.

AFRICA

Despite glimmers of profit, most African neobanks remain in the red. TymeBank recently announced it became profitable for the first time in the month of December 2023.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Lloyds Bank to cut 1,600 jobs across branches in shift to online banking. The overhaul will also see the banking giant create 830 roles in an expanded “relationship growth” team.

Goldman’s global banking and markets co-chief to leave bank. Jim Esposito, co-head of Goldman Sachs’ global banking and markets division, “has decided to retire” after nearly 29 years.

Tandem hires senior leaders for digital and marketing divisions. Maria Khan, has been appointed as Director of Product and Digital, and Chris Parker, as Head of Marketing.

Tide appoints Rebecca Marriott as Chief Risk Officer. Rebecca will continue to provide the expanding fintech with global oversight of all risk classes, compliance, quality control, and enterprise risk management.

Mettle announces new CEO, Michelle Prance to drive next phase of growth. Michelle joins Mettle at a pivotal stage in its growth and her experience will be instrumental in helping Mettle to continue to offer simple.

Griffin begins hunt for new COO with Maria Campbell set to depart. Griffin plans to task the successful applicant with leading its internal operations, vendor management infrastructure and operational resilience framework.

Deutsche Bank to cut 3,500 jobs. Following this announcement, the German financial institution mentioned that the decision was made in order to simplify operations.