All Access

Fintech Deals

Standard

Fintech Deals Alerts

Alert

Fintech Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

BFD Expert Voices

The SEC issued Robinhood a Wells Notice on Saturday, stating that staff had made a "preliminary determination" alleging that Robinhood had violated securities law.

Why it matters: The flurry of token delistings last year by Robinhood and other brokerages hasn't assuaged the SEC as it continues to crack down on the sector.

Zoom in: Specifically, the staff is now recommending enforcement action against the company, citing Sections 15(a) and 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 — which require entities dealing with securities to register as broker and clearing agencies.

What they're saying: "We firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities," Dan Gallagher, Robinhood's chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs officer said in a statement.

He noted that Robinhood has previously tried to register as a special purpose broker-dealer for digital assets, going through a 16-month process that turned out to be fruitless.

Context: Robinhood first disclosed an SEC investigation into its crypto business in December 2022.

In June 2023, the stock-trading platform delisted Cardano, Polygon and Solana tokens that the commission named as unregistered securities in lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance.

That same month, trading platforms eToro and Bakkt also delisted a handful of tokens named in the suits, while Coinbase refused to cull its trading pairs and has been fighting the suit.

The bottom line: Shares of Robinhood dipped in early trading today, before rising 2%.

1 big thing: Robinhood gets Wells Notice

Illustration of a pixel coin spinning behind a No symbol.

Rasan, a fintech firm that offers online insurance products in Saudi Arabia, plans to sell a 30% stake in a Riyadh IPO, Ryan writes.

Why it's the BFD: The listing could encourage other fintechs in the region to pursue an IPO.

Zoom in: Rasan will offer 22.7 million shares in the public listing: 17.4 million existing shares and 5.3 million new shares.

Between the lines: Rasan hired Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital as financial advisers, bookrunners and underwriters for the offering.

Bookbuilding for institutional investors will run May 12 through May 16; retail investors can bid for shares May 29-30.

Context: Founded in 2016, Rasan operates online insurance platforms Tameeni and Treza in the kingdom.

The company most recently raised SAR90 million (~$24 million) in a round led by Impact46 in November 2021.

By the numbers: The company had revenue of SAR256 million (~$68 million) in its most recent fiscal year, representing a CAGR of 81% from 2020 to 2023.

The big picture: Rasan is the fourth Saudi company to announce an IPO in the last two weeks, but one of the first fintech firms to go public in the kingdom.

What we're watching: Middle Eastern buy now, pay later firms Tabby and Tamara — both of which raised funds last year — could be next to list.

2. The BFD: Saudi fintech IPO coming

an illustration of a paper airplane made from a saudi riyal

🏦 U.S. regulators are scrutinizing Zelle complaints (Bloomberg)

Following rival JPMorgan Chase — and acknowledging behind-the-scenes interest in what has been a hot political topic in Washington — Wells Fargo said U.S. authorities are scrutinizing how consumer complaints about Zelle payments are handled.

🐜 China's Ant Group doubles down on global expansion (CNBC)

The company is looking to expand into the payments markets of Europe, Middle East and Latin America with its Alipay+ offering. It's partnering with European e-wallets Tinaba and Nexi, as well as Dubai Duty Free, among others.

 🇪🇺 Investors were burned by European banks for years — until now (WSJ)

European banks have cleaned up their balance sheets, cut costs and started earning more on loans. The result: Their stocks have surged, and lenders are preparing to hand back $130 billion to shareholders this year.

🤖 Over 90% of stablecoin transactions aren't from real users (Bloomberg)

Out of about $2.2 trillion in total transactions in April, just $149 billion originated from "organic payments activity," according to Visa. Double-counting of transactions occurs frequently in the current structure.

3. Credit score

Illustration of an exam answer sheet with the words "credit score" hand written in red ink.

Go deeper into our full database with the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Infinity Fincorp Solutions, an India-based provider of loans for micro to mid-size businesses, raised $8m from Archerman Capital. https://axios.link/3UucHnZ

• Mitosis, a DeFi liquidity business, raised $7m from investors including Amber and Foresight Ventures. https://axios.link/3JMDBTl

• Tuza, a London business card comparison site, raised a £4m seed from  Connect Ventures, Northzone, Entrepreneur First and Triple Point. axios.link/4a6N2Yu

• Volta, a Las Vegas non-custodial crypto platform, raised a $4.1m seed led by Fika Ventures and Haven Ventures, with participation from Soma Capital, Dispersion Capital and Uphonest Capital. axios.link/3WpDHYx

• Dexif, an Indian fixed-income market tech company, raised $4m led by RTP Global. https://axios.link/3UucHnZ

• Renda, a Nigerian ecommerce order fulfillment startup, raised $1.9m led by Ingressive Capital. axios.link/3w9KElQ

• Rosemont made a minority investment in Northside Capital Management, a Hood River, Ore., outsourced investment manager for ultra-high net worth families. northsidecap.com

• Cin7, a New Zealand portfolio company of Rubicon Technology Partners, acquired Inventoro, a Czech provider of sales forecasting and replenishment optimization software. cin7.com

• Silicon Valley Bank agreed to sell SVB Capital to a new entity backed by Brookfield and Sequoia Heritage. axios.link/3WwCxua

• Iconiq Growth raised $5.75b for two new funds. axios.link/3ygEX5W

• The Royal Bank of Canada is working with the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University to launch its RBC FinSec Incubator for fintech and cybersecurity startups. axios.link/4a9lQID

4. Deals!

• Rakesh Singh was named chief executive officer of Paytm's wealth subsidiary, Paytm Money, succeeding Varun Sridhar, who will becomes CEO of Paytm Services. COO and president Bhavesh Gupta is leaving. https://axios.link/4a9ziw7

• David Larson, a former Thomson Reuters exec, joined Feedzai as CFO. axios.link/3UwkFNm

• Tim Brooke Thom, a former JPMorgan and PWC exec, has joined Nordic bank challenger Lunar as chairman. axios.link/44LbGwN

5. It's personnel

🌉 Situational awareness: Join Axios Pro Deals and Dan Primack for an exclusive networking reception in San Francisco on Monday, May 13! Register here.

 ⚾️ @Ryan had a great time tailgating before yesterday's Sunday Night Baseball game.

📺 @Lucinda enjoyed watching the ABT Studio Company this weekend.

Thanks to George Moriarty and Rob Reinalda for today's edits.

And thanks to you for reading this edition of Fintech Deals. Please tell your fintech friends about this newsletter. They can sign up here.

May 06, 2024

1 big thing: Robinhood gets Wells Notice