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UK fintech Revolut is targeting a valuation of more than $40bn in an upcoming share sale. As reported by the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, the SoftBank-backed company is working with Morgan Stanley to sell around $500mn of existing shares, including those held by employees.
An investor revaluation earlier this year valued Revolut at $25.7bn, maintaining its position as the UK's most valuable start-up, despite a drop from its 2021 valuation of $33bn. According to the FT, if Revolut reaches its $40bn valuation target, it would surpass the market capitalisation of NatWest and Société Générale, and match that of Lloyds Banking Group.
Revolut offers digital financial services without physical branches. Founded in 2015, it serves 40mn customers globally, including 9mn in the UK, and plans to expand its workforce to 11,500 by the end of 2024.
Yet the company continues to face uncertainty regarding its UK banking licence application, which was submitted more than three years ago. Regulatory approval has been delayed due to a series of challenges, including auditors' inability to fully verify revenue figures in its 2021 accounts.
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Dutch lender ABN Amro is in discussions to acquire HSBC's German wealth management unit. As reported by German daily Boersen-Zeitung on Friday, the deal, involving the business formerly known as Trinkaus & Burkhardt, could be finalised within two to three weeks.
Following ABN Amro’s agreement last month to acquire Fosun's German private bank Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe for €672mn, a potential deal with HSBC would extend ABN Amro’s expansion into Germany, Europe’s largest wealth management market. The addition of HSBC's German private bank could increase ABN Amro's assets under management by €26bn, bringing the total to around €96bn, Boersen-Zeitung reported.
HSBC, meanwhile, is restructuring its German operations. As reported by Reuters on Friday, State Street, BNP Paribas and Caceis are among potential bidders for INKA, HSBC’s Düsseldorf-headquartered fund administration unit.
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Germany’s financial regulator BaFin has fined Citigroup nearly €13mn for control failures in its trading systems, the largest penalty ever imposed under the regulator’s consumer protection division.
The fine relates to a 2022 incident involving $1.4bn in mistaken equity sell orders. The error, attributed to a “fat-finger” mistake by a single trader, had already resulted in a £61.6mn fine from UK authorities in May.
Commenting on the matter, Citi in Germany said that it had taken “steps to strengthen our systems and controls, and remains committed to ensuring full regulatory compliance”.
“We are pleased to resolve this matter from more than two years ago, which arose from an individual error that was identified and corrected within minutes,” the Citi spokesperson added.
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A Russian court has ordered Commerzbank to pay €94.9mn in damages to RusChemAlliance, which was overseeing the construction of a gas processing plant in northwest Russia under a deal that was terminated due to Western sanctions.
As reported by Reuters, court documents reveal that Commerzbank was one of the guarantor lenders for the construction project, alongside German multinational chemical company Linde.
St. Petersburg-based RusChemAlliance, a joint venture 50 per cent owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom, has filed several lawsuits seeking damages from Western banks. Reuters reported that almost all of the assets involved in the terminated construction project had already been seized by court order.
