FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 1 March 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week, featuring Citi, Webull, Barclays, Blackstone, Enfuce and more.
South Korea announces two new initiatives to expand open banking
Korea’s FSC to expand open banking services
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has set out two new policy initiatives designed to further develop and expand the availability of open banking services in the country.
The first of these looks to broaden the level of data available to open banking across both person and business accounts, and more specifically, enable third parties to make multi-account inquiries simultaneously and in real time.
The second initiative seeks to make open banking services available in an offline capacity, such as through bank branches. In action, this would mean that any account holder would be able to use any bank or bank branch to access services like account inquiries and money transfers.
Kim Soyoung, vice chairman of the FSC, states that although the country’s existing systems have “made accomplishments in improving convenience for financial consumers and enabling innovative financial services”, the two new initiatives will help continue this momentum.
Blackstone buys $1.1bn of US credit card debt from Barclays
British bank Barclays is selling approximately $1.1 billion worth of its US credit card debt to asset management giant Blackstone.
The deal will see the bank transfer the debt from its branded credit card programme in the US to Blackstone’s credit and insurance segments, which were consolidated last September.
Barclays says the transaction is part of a move to release around £1 billion in risk-weighted assets (RWAs), and that it will use the proceeds of the sale to fund an extension of the lending activities it operates through its US consumer bank.
The agreement remains subject to certain closing conditions and is set to complete this quarter. Barclays states that it will continue to service the accounts for a fee and will “retain legal title in respect of the accounts”.
Citi names former JP Morgan exec Viswas Raghavan as new head of banking
Viswas Raghavan to lead banking for Citi
Citi has hired former JP Morgan exec Viswas Raghavan as its new head of banking and executive vice chair, effective “this summer”.
Raghavan is due to take charge of the group’s investment, corporate and commercial banking unit, which is described as “one of our five core businesses” in a note to colleagues delivered by Citi CEO Jane Fraser this week.
Also hired as executive vice chair, Fraser says Raghavan will “help shape and drive our firm-wide strategy” within his newfound position on the board of Citi Foundation and the wider executive management team.
A chartered accountant, Raghavan assumes the position directly from JP Morgan, where he had most recently been serving as head of global investment banking.
Enfuce appoints new chairman, secures UK EMI licence from the FCA
Finnish issuer processor Enfuce has bagged a UK Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and announced the appointment of Laurence Krieger as chairman of its UK board of directors as the firm looks to expand its footprint in the country.
The fintech says the new licence will enable it to provide “electronic money services as well as card issuing and payment solutions directly to new and existing UK customers”, and marks “an important milestone” as it looks to grow its UK presence further.
To help with its expansion, Laurence Krieger has also joined to chair the company’s UK board. Krieger is a fintech veteran and previously served as CEO of small business bank Tide UK and chief operating officer at Revolut. He is also CEO of a new digital retail challenger bank that’s currently in stealth mode.
Webull set for Nasdaq public listing via $7.3bn SPAC merger
Webull to list on Nasdaq via SPAC merger
Digital investment platform Webull is set to go public in the US via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) SK Growth Opportunities in a deal valuing the combined company at $7.3 billion.
The move is expected to be completed in H2 2024, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Webull says the combined company “will retain its name as ‘Webull Corporation’ and its ordinary shares are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under a new ticker symbol”.
Anthony Denier, group president of Webull Corporation, says he expects the merger to “enable us to further expand our holistic approach to retail investors”, while Richard Chin, CEO and director of SK Growth Opportunities, says he is confident that “capitalising on our experience and network globally will bolster Webull’s growth in existing and new markets as a public company”.
