Coventry Building Society reportedly eyeing Co-operative Bank takeover
Sky News reports that if the deal goes through, the combined entities will manage nearly £90bn in assets.
Europe
Liberis bags $112m in debt financing to fuel expansion in North America and Europe
Liberis plans to go live in Canada, Germany and Poland in 2024.
Bravura Solutions appoints APAC and EMEA CEOs as part of new leadership structure
The company has promoted Paul Dunn to CEO, APAC and Chris Spencer to CEO, EMEA.
German wealthtech Trade Republic lands full EU banking licence from the ECB
The new licence means the firm can now offer essential banking services such as deposits and lending.
Demystify Podcast: Demystifying BaaS banking with NatWest Boxed
Demystifying what is holding BaaS back from broader adoption and what it takes to create a successful BaaS venture.
Latvian embedded cryptocurrency trading platform Primex goes live
The platform seeks to “cut through crypto trading complexity” for financial services companies.
Allica Bank partners Wise Platform for cross-border payment solution
The partnership will enable Allica’s business customers to make “transparent and low-cost” international payments.
Crédit Agricole CIB taps Opensee for market risk management solution
The solution works to consolidate the bank’s previously fragmented data sets for its global markets business lines.
IDB Invest and IFC team up to launch the Amazon Finance Network
The global network aims to boost the economic development of the Amazon region.
Monzo co-founder Jonas Templestein departs after nine years
Templestein shared a letter he sent to his co-workers announcing his departure last week.
John O’Beirne takes the reins as executive director of Square’s Europe operations
O’Beirne joins from Bank of Ireland, where he spent almost 20 years in various senior roles.
French business banking firm Qonto taps Fourthline for onboarding tech
Fourthline’s tech will help the firm authenticate identity documents, electronic signatures and biometric data.
Konstantin Zaripov resumes role as managing director of Nebeus after five-year break
Zaripov initially departed the platform in October 2018, after a 15-month tenure as managing director.
Crypto.com lands EMI licence from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority
Crypto.com says it now plans to roll out a suite of e-money products customised for the UK market.
Italian competition authority interrupts migration of 2.4m Intesa Sanpaolo accounts to Isybank
The watchdog says more than 5,000 of Intesa Sanpaolo’s own customers sought its intervention.
UK fintech Plum signs strategic partnership with Greece’s Eurobank, lands €10m investment
Plum intends to grow its presence in Greece as well as the surrounding region.
Eurosystem eyes up alternative payment solutions in latest retail payments strategy update
The aim of the strategy is to “develop pan-European solutions for payments at the point of interaction”.
New UK fintech start-up Kaldi aims to help millennials and Gen Z save and invest
Through an “easy-to-understand” app, Kaldi hopes to encourage people to start saving and investing earlier.
How Europe’s PSPs are bracing for SEPA instant payments
The European Parliament approved final implementation deadlines for SEPA instant payments on 7 November.
SoFi set to end crypto services, taps Blockchain.com as “strategic crypto partner”
SoFi’s cryptocurrency services will formally end on 19 December.
UK fintech Paysend lands $65m in fresh funding round
The round includes strategic investments as well as participation from existing investors.
Metro Bank to axe 20% of jobs and review branch opening hours in push to cut costs
The bank is due to cut around 800 jobs as it looks to save up to £50 million per year in costs.
Denmark’s Mazepay taps ex-Mastercard exec Kevin Stanton to lead US drive
Stanton previously spent the best part of two decades in senior roles at Mastercard.
UK challenger Aldermore Bank enters strategic partnership with Mambu
Aldermore joins 18 regulated UK banks and 22 non-bank lenders and EMIs which run on Mambu.
Nucleus Commercial Finance secures £200m funding facility from NatWest
The new facility brings its total lending capacity to date to £900 million.
HSBC appoints CEO and COO for new embedded finance JV
HSBC executives Vinay Mendonca and Shehan Silva have been appointed as CEO and COO of the new JV, respectively.
ASR Nederland explores sale of digital bank Knab
ASR first acquired the brand in July this year after buying up Aegon’s domestic operations in the Netherlands.
Shareholders give Metro Bank refinancing deal the green light
The £925 million rescue deal also grants Spaldy Investments a 52.88% ownership stake.
French paytech Worldline lands Payment Institution licence from UK’s FCA
Worldline had previously been operating under the FCA’s Temporary Permission Regime, which will end on 30 December.
Contis hit with €840,000 fine by Bank of Lithuania
The fine relates to alleged AML failings over a period between 2021 and 2022.
Swedish lender Froda hires former Klarna director Roger Forsberg as CTO
Forsberg is expected to form and execute a strategy for Froda’s loan products and embedded finance operations.
Demystify Podcast: What banking can learn from telecoms with Herve Manceron, Skaleet
What banking can learn from the telecoms industry that has already undergone cloud technology transformation.
European Central Bank highlights continued sector-wide risk in latest Financial Stability Review
The ECB says residential and commercial real estate markets face “downside surprises” due to inflation.
Barclays could reportedly cut around 2,000 jobs in push to reduce costs by £1bn
Reuters reports that the bank’s managers are looking to increase profitability and are reviewing proposals.
Orange launches super-app Max it in Africa
The app will debut in Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Botswana.
UK financial services firms cautious but keen to adopt GenAI, new survey says
The study surveyed 23 members of UK Finance, including banks and non-banking financial services firms.
Funding Circle and Atom Bank to provide an additional £150m in financing to UK SMEs
The third such partnership between the two firms takes Atom’s total lending with Funding Circle up to £800m.
UK government publishes findings from the Future of Payments Review
Commissioned by the UK chancellor and launched in July this year, the report has been authored by Joe Garner.
A glance ahead: the European payments landscape in 2024
2024 is set to be a year of innovation and change for the European payments landscape.
FCA greenlights Klarna for payment and credit services in the UK
A newly formed entity, Klarna Financial Services UK, will now provide all consumer-facing services in the country.
