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☆ Investment banks approach Monzo over potential IPO as $4.5 billion fintech plots investing push, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investment banks have been in talks with Monzo over a future IPO, sources told Insider. The London-based fintech has also been in discussions to grow its wealth and investment offering. A number of leading investment banks have held initial talks with British fintech unicorn Monzo about a public listing that could take place as early as next year, sources say. Some investment banks have opted to cull teams of staff focused on M&A and stock issuance in recent months, most notably Goldman Sachs. The fintech has also been on the lookout for acquisitions and partnerships in the wealth and trading space, two sources told Insider.

☆ Here's who's keeping top payment players like Stripe, PayPal, and Square ahead of the competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fun fact Friday: The only letter of the alphabet that doesn't appear in a US state name is "Q." There are plenty of reasons to want to get in (money changes hands A LOT, whether it's between people, companies, or both). This list from Insider's Bianca Chan and Paige Hagy looks at the people pushing top payment companies to stay ahead of the innovation curve. Bianca and Paige spoke to more than a dozen industry insiders to identify executives who are making sure companies like PayPal, Stripe, Apple, and Visa are keeping the competition at bay. Click here to check out eight executives ensuring the top payment players stay ahead of the competition.

☆ These 8 execs at payment powerhouses like PayPal, Stripe, and Visa are leading innovative teams and projects to stave off competition from banks and startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Bianca Chan | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Payments are off to a red-hot start in 2023, with action from big banks, Big Tech, and fintech. Insider identified the people helping established payments firms stay ahead of the innovation curve. With competition bubbling up in the payments sphere and downward macro pressure on fintechs and tech companies broadly, the rat race to come out on top has begun. For the well-established payments players looking to defend their turf, sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Here are the people at the bleeding edge of innovation at eight top payments companies.

☆ Fintech threat to big banks fizzled in 2022 as rates rose - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - The competitive threat of financial technology companies to big banks diminished over the past year as rising interest rates constricted funding, a new report from Moody's Investor Service found. The report cited figures from CB Insights that showed global fintech funding fell 46% from 2021 to 2022. Banks have long recognized that technology could disrupt business models and allow technology conglomerates to enter banking, Moodys said. Fintech companies often face more regulatory obstacles than banks and may have encountered new requirements in certain jurisdictions in recent years, according to Moody’s. But although the current macroeconomic environment may pose challenges to fintech companies, the sector still has the potential to increase financial inclusion and lower costs to consumers, the report found.

☆ KPMG becomes first Big Four accounting firm to cut staff in U.S. - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Several financial firms have slashed jobs in recent months including major Wall Street banks, asset managers and fintechs amid a turbulent macroeconomic environment that has pressured consumers and soured demand in several mainstay business units. The cuts at KPMG will affect close to 700 people, the FT report added. However, we have experienced prolonged uncertainty affecting certain parts of our Advisory business that drove outsized growth in recent years," a spokesperson for KPMG said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The Big Four accounting firms comprise of EY, Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Granth Vanaik; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here is the 14-page pitch deck a fintech helping SMBs get approved for loans via alt data used to raise $1.8 million from ATX Venture Partners, Rex Salisbury, and others
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Here is the deck Uplinq used to raise a $1.8 pre-seed extension round. One financial-technology startup trying to bring alternative data to small-business lending is catching the attention and dollars of some of the most notable fintech investors in the space. The latest round brings Uplinq's total funding to $5.6 million, with the startup raising its initial $3.5 million pre-seed round in April 2022. And is the credit score really an accurate reflection of their true credit worthiness?" Here's the 14-page pitch deck Uplinq used to raise $1.8 million.

☆ I asked an AI chatbot to give me advice on how to manage finances with my spouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Managing finances with a significant other isn't the sexiest thing to talk about, but it's an important topic to breach. If you're unfamiliar with Replika, it's an AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT, with one big exception. After a brief intro, I explained my problem: I needed help managing finances with my wife. Maintain separate accounts: It's also a good idea for each spouse to have their own personal account for individual expenses and financial independence. For example, if one spouse makes significantly more than the other, they may contribute a larger portion to joint expenses.

☆ UK markets watchdog says 'synthetic data' can aid choice, innovation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Thursday it will push ahead with plans to make available "synthetic data" to help increase innovation and choice in financial services following a consultation last year. Data privacy laws make it harder for third-party companies to access data on customers held by long-established banks and insurers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last year published a consultation paper on synthetic data. "Based on the feedback to the Call for Input and previous research, our current position is that synthetic data can potentially make a significant contribution to beneficial innovation in UK financial markets," the FCA said in a statement on Thursday. "We will continue to engage loosely with the ICO to explore opportunities for data sharing in financial services within he bounds of UK data protection regulation," the FCA said.

☆ Here's the 12-page pitch deck a fintech aiming to be an alternative to BNPL used to raise money from Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and rapper Lil Baby, among others
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kasheesh is a fintech that allows consumers to split online payments across multiple cards. Kasheesh allows users to split online payments across several debit and credit cards. Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, rapper Lil Baby, actor Damson Idris, and entrepreneur John Terzian most recently joined the cap table in this round. On Kasheesh's web-based browser plug in, users can split any online payment across up to five debit and credit cards. Read the 12-page pitch deck Kasheesh used to raise a $3 million seed extension round.

☆ A disappointing 2022 has led some Goldman Sachs partners to ask: Is it time for a change at the top?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On tap, we've got stories on why not-so-flashy land is actually the hottest investment on Wall Street, the firms minting money by navigating FTX's bankruptcy, and the coolest houses on Airbnb. It's only February, but the Ides of March might be coming to Goldman Sachs. We've talked at length over how people are looking to pin the blame on Solomon as things have soured at Goldman. Certain issues have been easier to overlook than others, but the bank recently broke a cardinal rule of Wall Street: Don't mess with bankers' compensation. Forget beachfront, the hottest real estate for Wall Street is industrial land.

☆ Check out the 11-slide pitch deck Moonfare, a startup that lets high-net-worth individuals invest in private equity funds, used to raise a $15 million extension
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

German fintech Moonfare has raised $15 million in its second extension to its Series C round. We got an exclusive look at the 11-slide pitch deck Moonfare used to raise the fresh cash. Moonfare, a startup that grants access to private equity for retail investors, has raised $15 million in fresh funds. Moonfare raised $125 million in a Series C round in November from Shopify and Twitter-backer Insight Partners. Now, it has added another $15 million in an extension round led by from 7 Global Capital (7GC).

☆ Potential buyers are leveraging high-profile blowups like Frank and FTX to get better terms. Insiders detail how dealmaking is changing in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Paige Hagy | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

We don't want to look like JPMorgan,'" Jason Mikula, fintech analyst and writer behind Fintech Business Weekly, told Insider. How closely they adhere to it matters greatly in terms of if a deal is on the line," Mandelbaum told Insider. Investors pumped $132 billion globally into fintechs in 2021 and there were more than 900 fintech M&A exits, according to CB Insights. "It's now a buyer's market," Rob Brown, CEO of Lincoln International, a global investment-banking advisory firm, told Insider. One way companies might optimize the due-diligence process without cutting corners is by leaning on machines to help with the heavy lifting.

☆ Blackstone's real-estate business is totally fine, so please stop asking about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Blackstone's real-estate business is literally fine, everyone. Yes, the private-equity giant had to limit investors from pulling their money out from the $69 billion Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) in December. And yes, it's also true that Blackstone had to tell investors again on Wednesday that investors were pulling money from BREIT. Murphy, an executive at Standard Investments, serving as Blackstone's new COO of corporate private equity and Heather von Zuben's appointment as COO of Blackstone's credit arm. As much as I enjoy poking fun at Blackstone, Schwarzman and Gray aren't necessarily wrong, to a degree.

☆ These are the 27 most exciting European fintech startups to watch in 2023, according to venture capitalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Now, investors are placing a greater emphasis on startups in technical areas like FinOps. We asked 14 of Europe's top fintech investors to name the startups to watch in 2023. Investment in European fintechs fell to $23.3 billion last year, down from 2021's record-breaking $29.5 billion, according to PitchBook data, and closer to the total for 2019 and 2020. Different types of fintechs are also grabbing investor attention, with those operating in more niche, technical areas facing a brighter 2023. Here are 27 European fintechs to watch in 2023, according to some of the region's top investors.

Some hedge funds, wealth managers, and asset managers are still hiring. Recruiters told us what roles are in demand and what skills can help you land them. Big-name hedge funds like Citadel, D. E. Shaw, and Millennium Management posted double digits in a year that many other investment managers would rather soon forget. Alternative asset managers, meanwhile, are hiring in the private-wealth-management businesses they've spent recent years building out. … if you're in or interested in wealth managementDespite the market downturn, wealth managers are in high demand.

☆ I see this year's budding stock rally signaling a different kind of bull market, one that's not so reliant on just a few stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

This nascent bull market started with the peak in interest rates and the dollar back in the fall and then broadened to include bank and semiconductor stocks in 2023. That's right we created FANG a decade ago this week on "Mad Money," and it was a really good call — until it wasn't. The stability of a market that's based, in part, on the assumption of a JPMorgan (JPM) or an American Express or even a Boeing rallying on earnings, seems tidal to me. That's what's happening as we consider the market to be far bigger than any group of a half-dozen stocks. Yes, I am shredding the cynicism and heralding the new bull market, one that's not ignorant of what ails things, but is benignly rotational.

☆ The dealmaking boom meant fast timelines and loose due diligence. But high-profile implosions like FTX and Frank mean would-be sellers can expect more scrutiny, insiders say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Paige Hagy | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Some hedge funds, wealth managers, and asset managers are still hiring. Layoffs across industries have been dominating headlines in January, and Wall Street has been no exception. Big-name hedge funds like Citadel, D. E. Shaw, and Millennium Management posted double digits in a year that many other investment managers would rather soon forget. Alternative asset managers, meanwhile, are hiring in the private-wealth-management businesses they've spent recent years building out. Emily Landon, the CEO of the Chicago-based headhunting firm The Crypto Recruiter, pointed to the job board Crypto Careers, which has over 2,400 openings.

☆ It's not all gloom and doom on Wall Street. Here's where finance firms are still hiring.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For many on Wall Street, those questions are top of mind. Insider's finance team canvassed more than a dozen recruiters to get their takes on the job market. From investment banking to hedge funds to fintechs, here's who's hiring and who's at risk of making more cuts. Click here to read more about the hiring landscape across Wall Street, from banks to hedge funds and fintechs. We've got a list of the best and worst US airlines, according to The Wall Street Journal.

☆ Capital One scraps 1,100 tech positions - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Consumer lending firm Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) has cut 1,100 positions in its technology segment, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, a move that comes as its digital transformation matures. The company plans to eliminate its "Agile" job family and integrate it into existing engineering and product manager roles, it said in a statement. Over the years, companies such as Capital One invested in technology heavily as competition intensified between card giants and fintechs. "Their contributions have been critical to maturing our software delivery model and our overall tech transformation," Capital One said. Analysts expect the credit card giant to report a profit of $3.85 a share from $5.41 a year earlier.

☆ This payment stock can surge 25% as a potential recession means less competition, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Global Payments are set to surge as competition falls to the wayside, according to Morgan Stanley. Less competition good for shares The changing competitive landscape should favor incumbents such as Global Payments, according to Faucette. In addition, Global Payments is top of the list in the category due to its strategic outlook, including a focus on mergers and acquisitions. Merchant exposure Global Payments also has high merchant exposure, which might not be as much of a detriment in a recession as feared, according to the note. "With this type of backdrop, we would expect GPN Merchant revenue growth to remain solidly mid- to high single digits."

☆ Cramer sees bullish signs starting to emerge in the stock market, just not in the same places as before
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Case in point: Mike Wilson, the genius of 2022, the strategist who was the most negative — and, therefore, the most right. Seven days ago, he predicted the bank earnings, the kick-off, would jolt the market by coming in sharply below expectations. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called the bank's acquisition of fintech Frank a 'huge mistake' after being grilled about it on an earnings call
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Carter Johnson | Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Mike Mayo Bloomberg TVIn response, Dimon said that JPMorgan has been "very disciplined" in its acquisition strategy, but added that the Frank acquisition was, "in one way or another, a huge mistake." Mayo has previously been critical of JPMorgan's spending plans, which also became a flashpoint for some JPMorgan investors in the run up to the bank's investor day last May. In 2020, Insider detailed how JPMorgan spun up a "rapid proof-of-concept" model to speed along startup investments within its corporate and investment banking division. That team was headed by Michael Elanjian, who now leads digital investment banking at JPMorgan, according to his LinkedIn. Or are you a shareholder with concerns about the bank's spending?

☆ Bank earnings are under way. Here are the biggest storylines everyone on Wall Street is focused on.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Starting today, the six big US banks (Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo) report their Q4 and year-end earnings. But instead of a boring preview on what to expect, I figured I'd have some fun by setting gambling lines on some of the biggest storylines heading into earnings. OK, let's get into the biggest storylines and their odds:David Solomon discusses the recent headcount reduction at Goldman Sachs. What'll be interesting is if he teases even more cuts coming down the line as the bank looks to cut costs. (-150)Background: The bank got ahead of this one by announcing its plans to step back from mortgages earlier this week.

☆ JPMorgan's acquisition strategy is coming under fire. Here are the 15 fintech and consumer-focused deals done by the bank since 2020.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Carter Johnson | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

NutmegDeal details: JPMorgan announced the acquisition in June 2021, paying approximately $1 billion. cxLoyaltyDeal details: JPMorgan said it would buy cxLoyalty's global loyalty division in December 2020. ProxymityDeal details: JPMorgan, Citi, HSBC, and other firms together invested $20.5 million in Proxymity in May 2020. Viva WalletDeal details: JPMorgan said it would acquire 49% of Viva Wallet in January 2022, pending regulatory approval. Christian Petersen-Clausen/Getty ImagesRenovite TechnologiesDeal details: JPMorgan announced on September 12 it plans to acquire Renovite.

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