It was a rather depressing week for FinTech
Good morning FinTech Fanatic,
After a week in which troubled FinTech’s such as Silvergate , Railsr and Silicon Valley Bank dominated the news, I try to take a more positive approach to start this week.
While some companies struggle to obtain the necessary funding in these economic difficult times, there’s still some money flowing within the FinTech scene.
For instance, web3 startups The Growhub and Tweed both raised money. Also US-based wealth tech company Masttro has received a growth equity investment of $43m in a funding round led by FTV Capital.
In the aftermath of International Women’s Day, FT Partners released an interesting report.
‘Women in FinTech: Rising Stars’ features more than 25 exclusive interviews with Rising Stars in FinTech. All women that are leading the way for the future of FinTech, across all departments and roles.?
An inspiring read to start the week with. Let’s go to the other FinTech news.
SVB NEWS
BlockFi has $227 million in uninsured funds in Silicon Valley Bank because the cash is a money market mutual fund , according to a bankruptcy document filed on Friday.
Brex CEO trying to raise over $1 billion in a weekend. Brex CEO is currently working to raise over a billion dollars in a weekend to help fund an emergency bridge credit line that he believes will help startup customers impacted by SVB’s collapse be able to make payroll next week.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said she was working closely with banking regulators to respond to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and protect depositors, but a major bailout was not being considered.
Etsy warns sellers of delay in processing payments due to SVB collapse. The company said in a statement it has been working on a solution, and that they expect to pay sellers within the next several business days.
SVB: UK government working on a plan for companies affected to avoid or minimise damage following the Bank of England ’s decision to put Silicon Valley Bank UK into insolvency, according to a Treasury statement released Sunday morning.
Venture capital firms are expressing their support for the fallen Silicon Valley Bank. "SVB has been a trusted and long-time partner to the venture capital industry and our founders," a joint statement from more than 110 firms reads .
Hedge funds are offering to buy startup deposits stranded at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) for as little as 60 cents on the dollar .?
Silicon Valley Bank had no official Chief Risk Officer for 8 months while the VC market was spiraling. It is unclear how the bank managed risks in the interim period between the departure of one CRO and appointment of another.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp . and the Federal Reserve are weighing creating a fund that would allow regulators to backstop more deposits at banks that run into trouble following SVB's collapse.
Women in FinTech: Rising Stars. For this Rising Stars report, they asked the FinTech ecosystem to nominate women that are leading the way for the future of FinTech, across all departments and roles. Get the full report here
Check out January Capital 's "Southeast Asia: 2022 State of the Technology Ecosystem Report", a deep dive into the most compelling investable themes in Southeast Asia. Read more
INSIGHTS
How critical is crypto to Revolut’s growth??
Slightly over a week ago, the financial superapp published its FY 2021 accounts, whose initial results showed a company in its first year of profit. FXC Intelligence looks at the role crypto has played in Revolut’s move into profit in 2021, and how much it will contribute in later years. Read full article
Hong Kong tries to recover its global financial center mojo. Given the competition it faces from Singapore, Hong Kong cannot afford to rest on its laurels. While it inevitably will face competition from Singapore, Hong Kong brings to the table certain advantages that it should be able to leverage effectively .
Hamburg’s FinTech scene is lively and diverse.?
From Big Data to personal finance and payment solutions to simple credit comparison, FinTechs from all sectors are there. This Fintech Monitor profiles and categorises Hamburg’s FinTechs. More European FinTech Maps here
领英推荐
FINTECH NEWS
BaaS fintech Swan spreads wings in Spain, which is the second European country where Swan has established a local office, following a successful German launch last year. Swan’s application of embedded finance will empower spanish companies to quickly and easily improve their customer experiences.
Grab prepays US$600 Million in debt ahead of 2026 maturity as it had excess cash on its balance sheet, according to a report by Bloomberg. This move brought down its debt under an outstanding term loan to US$517 million from the previous balance of US$1.117 billion.
Finastra unveils ESG lending service. According to Finastra, ESG Service facilitates the integration of sustainability performance target criteria into ESG pricing for both Finastra Loan IQ and other back-office systems in the market.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
Nigeria's central bank releases PSD2-style open banking legislation. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved operational guidelines on open banking this week, becoming the first country in the African region to adopt open banking regulations. Link here
M&As
Orion Innovation snaps up Banktech Software for undisclosed sum. The acquisition, Orion says, will complement its financial services business by bringing in additional expertise, open banking solutions, as well as expand Orion’s digital solutions and core banking implementation capabilities.
PARTNERSHIPS
Security Bank picks ACI Worldwide to power its real-time payments platform.?The partnership will enable Security Bank to provide its customers with a seamless real-time payments experience and will be able to bring new products and services to customers faster.
Singlife taps Citi and Blackrock to revamp its investment capabilities. Singlife’s integration with Citi and BlackRock’s Aladdin platform will provide clients with complete portfolio management capabilities that improve efficiencies, automate controls and enable a seamless front-to-back experience.?
Credit Karma partners with Intuit to launch Net Worth product. The introduction of Net Worth brings the company one step closer to becoming a full-service personal finance management platform, with products and features to help every American make progress, no matter where they are on their financial journey.
Paysera Partners With Ria Money Transfer , unlocking payment collection in cash at more than 500,000 locations worldwide. This enables clients to send money not to a bank account but to the nearest Ria cash pickup location.
Fintech firm Zai partners Cuscal to launch PayTo solution in Australia. The partnership will also focus on further development of Zai’s PayIDTM solution. PayTo is designed to enable businesses to undertake real-time payments from their clients’ bank accounts.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Okta appoints Clarence Cheah to lead APAC, Japan growth. ?In his new role, Cheah will oversee Okta‘s strategic growth initiatives and drive regional business development and expansion.?
Looking to work with me in any of the following areas?
Cheers,
Marcel van Oost