👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Goldman Sachs Group is considering "strategic alternatives" for its consumer's arm, raising prospects for a potential sale after the business lost billions of dollars, said Chief Executive David Solomon.
Solomon's remarks were made at the bank's second investor day in its 154-year old history. The consumer business that Solomon championed lost $3 billion in almost three years and its credit card business is being probed by regulators.
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📊 INFOGRAPHIC
FIS recently announced plans to divest Worldpay. In contrast, Fiserv’s acquisition of First Data appears to be performing well based on Flagsip advisor review of Fiserv’s 2022 results.
👨💻 BLOG
Varo Bank raising $50m in significant downround 👇
Less than a year ago, Varo CEO Colin Walsh was insisting the company had enough runway to reach profitability without raising additional equity.
💡INSIGHTS
Almost every corner of America’s most populous region every race, and every income bracket appears to have low credit scores. But why? 👇
🧐 ANALYSIS
While the story of public market FinTech over the last three years has been perplexing, a retrospective analysis reveals a few simple lessons.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Binance moved $1.8 billion of collateral meant to back its customers' stablecoins to hedge funds last year.
⭐️ Trust & Will secures $15M after doubling revenue, Amex Ventures, USAA are among the digital estate planning startup's new backers.
⭐️ Shares in Silvergate plunged by more than 30% in after-hours trading after it warned it will miss the deadline to file its annual report.
⭐️ Bolt announced its partnership with Casper Sleep to offer its customers a streamlined, one-click checkout experience.
⭐️ Former FTX Director of Engineering Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal charges in a New York court.
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DIGITAL BANKING
Wells Fargo laid off hundreds of mortgage bankers in a new round of job cuts.
A trio of regulators including the Federal Reserve warned banks to be mindful of liquidity risks related to cryptocurrencies.
Remitly decided to shut down Passbook, its digital banking app for immigrants.
First Fidelity Bank announced the launch of its next-gen Banking as a Service. solution.
Archway garnered an investment of $15m in its Series A funding round by Madrona and WaFd Bank.
VC FUNDS
Altai Ventures closed Altai Ventures Fund II, LP, at $53m, investors included Bain Capital Ventures, Century Equity Partners, and other LPs across property and casualty insurance.
Serena Ventures backs SoLo Funds as finance platform tops 1M registered users and over 1.3 million downloads to make it “the largest and first Black-owned personal finance platform”.
PAYMENTS
Pagos raised $34 million in a Series A round led by Arbor Ventures.
Visa and Mastercard are slamming the brakes on plans to forge new partnerships with crypto firms after a string of high-profile collapses shook faith in the industry.
Cloud Payments announced its partnership with Ibanera to power Ibanera’s mobile payments ecosystem, enhancing user experiences and banking accessibility.
Stripe cut the valuation for its multi-billion-dollar fundraising by about 10% to around $50 billion.
BNPL
equipifi announced a new deal with the Associated Credit Union of Texas to focus on “the growing concern over the missing guardrails for consumer safety and financial wellness”.
BLOCKCHAIN / DEFI
Coinbase is delisting the Binance stablecoin, saying that the rival exchange's offering does not meet internal listing standards.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
Finch secured $40 million in a Series B funding round co-led by General Catalyst and Menlo Ventures.
FRAUD PREVENTION
Plaid launched a public-facing portal called Security Portal that existing and prospective customers and partners can use to access information they need to make informed decisions.
Quantifind raised $23 million in a funding round led by DNS Capital.
FINANCIAL LITERACY
Step launched stock investing, was named FinTech Trailblazer and winner of Nasdaq Data Link and FinTech is Femme’s contest.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
The American Fintech Council appointed Cross River executive Phil Goldfeder as its new CEO.
Varo Bank announced the appointment of Wook Chung as Chief Product Officer.
Backbase announced the appointment of Sam Boggs III as senior vice president and general manager for the North American mid-market segment.
Payoneer’s Board of Directors appointed John Caplan as CEO of Payoneer.