The Front Page of Global Fintech

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The Front Page of Global Fintech

The the largest fintech community in the world. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest in news opinions, and all things financial technology.

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One third of new unicorns in November were fintechs (TWIF 12/10)

One third of new unicorns in November were fintechs (TWIF 12/10)
The 40 Best Places to Visit in the Winter

Hello Fintech Friends,

Thank you to Mary Ann Azevedo and the team at The Interchange for bringing my attention to a (surprising) new report from Crunchbase, The Fintech Sector Trotted The Most New Unicorns Onto Our Board In November.

Thought fewer companies are reaching the vaunted $1 billion valuation, 3 of the 9 last month - Tabby, Enable, and InCred - were fintechs. You can read more here.

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below. (👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know!)


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📖 Read of the Week

In spite of a strong economy, low unemployment, and decreasing inflation, data collated by the Wall Street Journal show that American credit card delinquency and charge-off rates are starting to creep up:

According to new research on the NYC tech ecosystem from Lightspeed, "New York’s growing share of Fintech fundraising grew to 24% as % of total US fundraising in 2023, from <20% in 2017."

And FT Partners published their monthly fintech market overview for December.

☯️ Exits
💻 IPOs & SPACs
  • Blue Room Acquisition filed for a $200 million SPAC, led by Erick Deneb Flores Garcia, the founder and CEO of Mexico-based financial services firm MKM Bolsa Privada, to target a fintech company.
  • FG Merger III filed for a $150 million SPAC targeting a financial services company in North America.


🤝 M&A - Fintech
  • Financial information services provider Fitch Group completed its acquisition of credit data provider Bixby Research and Analytics.
  • Nigerian crypto exchange BitMama has offered virtual banking provider Payday an acquisition at a price point of $1 million of the crypto exchange's equity at a $30 million price point.
  • Residential sale-leaseback platform EasyKnock acquired home equity investment platform Balance Homes.
  • French digital payments company Worldline is considering an asset sale to reassure shareholders after a sharp drop in its share price.

🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ
  • Reverence Capital Partners, a financial-services focused private equity group, is seeking buyers for a $2.5 billion minority stake in Osaic, a network of wealth management firms.
  • It seems to be tough times in British banking... Qatar Holding is offering about 362 million shares – almost half of its holdings – in British bank Barclays, currently a 5% stake.
  • French bank Société Générale is exiting its non-core holdings, including selling its UK private banking unit.
  • Austrian banking consortium BAWAG Group is the leading bidder for Barclays' German consumer finance business, at €500 million.
  • Australian fund manager Perpetual rejected an A$3.1 billion ($2 billion) takeover offer from its largest shareholder.


🌎 Fintech Around the World

Banking the unbanked: why emerging markets dominate crypto adoption

The End for U.S. Dollar Stablecoins? What’s in the U.S. Government’s Latest Crypto Power Grab

Taxpayers in Swiss City Can Settle Bills With Bitcoin, Tether

Credit scoring firms face curbs after landmark EU data protection ruling

China’s Colossal Hidden-Debt Problem Is Coming to a Head

📚 Deeper Reads & Features

Breaking Down the Open Banking Rules with Matt Janiga

Last Days Of ZestMoney: Why India’s BNPL Poster Child Shut Shop

Fintech Business Weekly's 2023 Predictions Graded

A closer look at venture debt with SVB

Jamie Dimon’s $4 Trillion Machine He made JPMorgan Chase the biggest bank in the world. What is it, exactly?

Where banking and fintech collide: Commercial cards for organizational simplicity

Imitation Banks: Abusing the Public’s Faith in Banks

Today’s AI funding rush reminds me of the fintech investing hype of 2021

Affirm’s head of product discusses its new approach to buy now, pay later

Digital Payments Are Having a Jolly Holiday

Dark clouds gather over European payments firms

Shut up and take our money, investors say about financial advice

SSV Capital's CEO Ankur Ghosh discusses SmartPay launch and expanding fintech horizons

The Power of Equipment Financing for Startups

$12 Billion HR Startup Deel Changed Global Hiring. Now It Wants To Change Regulators’ Minds

Index Partner Mark Goldberg Leaves to Start Fund

Therapy Dogs Easing Holiday Stress at Santa Barbara Airport


Have a news item for us? Reach out to news@thisweekinfintech.com