Fintech

Chancellor: Robinhood is more sheriff than rebel

15 Jul 2021

Like its many antecedents during previous bubbles, the app-based stockbroker claims a mission to “democratise finance for all”. But the $40 bln startup is more a creature of Wall Street and Silicon Valley than its clients may understand. The long-term risk is a people’s revolt.

ECB has reason to leapfrog Fed on digital currency

14 Jul 2021

President Christine Lagarde took the first step towards an electronic euro. China and some others are moving faster. But the innovation may be more useful in the euro zone than in the United States, especially if the ECB can impose negative interest rates directly on households.

Capital Calls: U.S. jobs, Fitness IPO

7 Jul 2021

Concise views on global finance: U.S. employment vacancies tip scales towards workers; Mark Wahlberg-backed F45’s IPO values it at twice what an attempted SPAC deal did last year, justifiably.

Wise’s low-fee vision goes blurry in London float

7 Jul 2021

The money-changing app is paying Goldman Sachs and others 13 mln pounds for its direct stock market listing. That’s steep relative to the tiny number of shares on offer, though investors benefit from future liquidity. Either way, it’s more ambiguous than Wise’s cheap FX rates.

How much is Wise worth?

5 Jul 2021

The money-changing app is listing in London without setting a price. Its worth depends largely on how much more foreign-exchange business CEO Kristo Käärmann can win from banks. A Breakingviews calculator shows Wise is due a roughly 20% upgrade from last year’s $5 bln price tag.

Wise’s FX land grab merits $6 bln valuation

5 Jul 2021

The money-changing app is listing in London without setting a price. Its worth depends largely on how much more foreign-exchange business CEO Kristo Käärmann can win from banks. A Breakingviews calculator shows Wise is due a roughly 20% upgrade from last year’s $5 bln price tag.

Sea banks on rising with fintech tide

29 Jun 2021

The Tencent-backed gaming-to-shopping group, at $147 bln, trades at a rich sum of its parts. Investors believe it can ramp up commission-based fintech services in underbanked Southeast Asia. Its trove of licences minimise risk. Boss Forrest Li has built an enviable position.

Viewsroom: Wall Street is open again and booming

24 Jun 2021

From Morgan Stanley to BlackRock, the world’s top investment banks and money managers are back in their offices and super busy with mergers, IPOs, LBOs and other activities thumping. Plus, Soho House and Wise go public and green hydrogen megalomania on the Congo river.

Profitability makes Wise a true fintech unicorn

23 Jun 2021

Like financial-technology rivals, the UK money-changing group has a snazzy app and disruptive business model. What sets it apart is healthy earnings. Big banks can’t match its service without parting with fees worth $250 bln a year. Smaller ones may end up using Wise’s service.

Fintech Wise’s hybrid IPO may be a one-off for UK

17 Jun 2021

Like Spotify in the U.S., the money transfer group will list in London without inviting bids from would-be investors. A direct listing is alluring, but only open to companies that don’t need cash and already have a base of external shareholders. Few other hopefuls fit the bill.

Capital Calls: Russia and US, Clothing IPOs, Food

3 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Kremlin tells its national state fund to get out of greenback-denominated assets; Rent the Runway thinks about going public; the FAO’s global food index hits its highest level in nearly a decade.

Marqeta asks $13 bln for fintech picks and shovels

2 Jun 2021

That’s the market cap at the top of the IPO range proposed by the issuer of digital payment cards. Marqeta is riding a big trend, mostly serving Square. That brings protection, but also exposure – not only to rivals, but to customers’ own capabilities and their customers’ whims.

Capital Calls: Sabers down for Project JEDI

10 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Pentagon may end the $10 billion cloud project to consolidate U.S. military data after exhausting worse options.

Africa’s digital payments race becomes a scramble

5 May 2021

The pandemic has brought the region’s mobile-based money networks and their 159 mln users to a crossroads. Airtel and MTN may spin off their payment arms. Banks and card giants like Mastercard are joining in. The victors will hold sway over an increasingly cashless continent.

Capital Calls: Pfizer, ConocoPhillips

4 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: About $6 bln of additional earnings from Covid vaccines at the U.S. drug giant should mean more capital returned to investors; the independent oil group is offloading stock in Canada-based Cenovus it collected as part of a deal four years ago.

Ant’s shadow obscures glowing Lufax results

27 Apr 2021

The Chinese fintech firm quietly raised $2 bln in New York the week before its rival’s $35 bln IPO imploded last year. On Monday it reported first quarter earnings up 19% and doubled some forecasts. Share performance remains unfairly darkened by Ant’s regulatory woes.

Capital Calls: SXSW

19 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: Rolling Stone publisher Penske Media is taking a 50% stake in hipster arts festival South By Southwest.

Capital Calls: Delta Air Lines, L’Oreal

15 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. air carrier says it was cash-flow positive in March, signaling the beginning of the end of the pandemic; the French cosmetics group has too much cash, which could be useful for dealmaking.

Grab’s $40 bln debut comes with twin airbags

13 Apr 2021

The Southeast Asian taxi-to-fintech firm is going public at a sales multiple twice Uber’s. U.S. SPAC sponsor Altimeter is contributing to a $4 bln PIPE and signing a long lockup. It’s a smart way to underwrite an amped-up valuation and sets a template to speed others to market.

Capital Calls: U.S. CEO pay

12 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: The median big-company boss is ending up with $13.7 mln for the 2020 pandemic year, a payout that's heading for a record.