Universal Investment Group, a Frankfurt-based investment services platform, has appointed industry veteran John Burns as its group CTO and newest executive board member, effective 1 June. Universal Investment’s new group CTO John Burns (Image: LinkedIn) In this newly-created role, Burns will be responsible for “all aspects of technology”, including the “strategic direction and enhancement” of the company’s IT platforms to “propel continued growth and client-driven solutions”. Before joining Universal Investment, Burns served for over seven years as the global head of technology and operation ..read more

ABN Amro, one of the Netherlands’ largest banks, has agreed a deal with Fosun International to acquire Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe (HAL), a German private bank founded in 1796, for €672 million. ABN Amro buys HAL for €672m The Dutch giant anticipates that the combination of HAL with its German private banking arm Bethmann Bank will solidify its “top three position” in the German wealth management sector. The merged entity is expected to manage approximately €70 billion in assets, with HAL contributing €26 billion in assets and €2 billion in loans. ABN Amro believes HAL’s private banking services a ..read more

N26 has been hit with a €9.2 million fine from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), with the German regulator claiming the digital challenger “systematically submitted suspected money laundering reports late in 2022”. BaFin fines N26 €9.2m BaFin states that the delay in reporting suspicious activity violated the Act on the Detection of Profits from Serious Crimes, which requires immediate reporting of suspected money laundering or terrorist financing transactions. In a statement on the fine, N26 says that it has implemented “numerous measures to further improve reporting proc ..read more

Berlin-based climate fintech Cloover has bagged $114 million in a seed funding round, consisting of a mix of debt and equity financing. Cloover’s co-founders Valentin Gönczy, Jodok Betschart and Peder Broms (Image: Cloover) The round was led by US venture capital firm Lowercarbon Capital and further supported by previous backers QED Investors and 9900 Capital. Announced via a post on LinkedIn, the start-up says the cash injection will be used to “enhance our operating system designed for the renewable energy industry”, with a focus on further developing its financing, sales, and payment ser ..read more

UK-based financial data firm FE fundinfo has acquired Dericon, a wealth management fintech based in Germany, as it doubles down on its European expansion plans. FE fundinfo to acquire Germany’s Dericon Founded in 2008 in Frankfurt, Dericon provides financial institutions, traders and investors with solutions for derivative pricing, market data integration, portfolio management and compliant product structuring through its web-based distribution network, Dericon WMS, which is currently in use by over 150 banks and investment houses across Europe. Its acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, will ..read more

European open finance fintech Fabrick has entered into an agreement to acquire German open banking platform finAPI to expand its presence into the DACH region. Fabrick to acquire finAPI from Schufa The agreement will see Fabrick purchase a 75% stake in the platform, currently held by private credit bureau Schufa in Germany, for an undisclosed sum. The remaining 25% stake will stay with finAPI founders Florian Haagen and Martin Lacher. Founded in Munich in 2008, finAPI offers open banking, data intelligence, KYC and payment services. It claims to currently serve over 350 clients, including ba ..read more

UK-based SME lender Iwoca has landed a debt funding package totalling £270 million to increase its presence in both domestic and international markets amid the “mounting demand for finance from small businesses”. Iwoca secures £270m debt funding package The package is comprised of a joint £150 million commitment from Citibank and Insight Investment, which the lender intends to leverage to boost its growth in Germany, alongside a further £120 million arrangement with Barclays and US-based Värde Partners, which it will put towards scaling its operations in the UK. This latter pair of inve ..read more

Pliant, a B2B credit card fintech based in Berlin, Germany, has raised over €18 million in a Series A extension, bringing the round’s total sum to more than €50 million. Pliant raises €18m Series A extension The latest round of funding was led by PayPal Ventures, with additional participation from existing investors Alstin Capital, SBI Investment and Motive Ventures. Pliant previously raised €28 million via its initial Series A funding round in February this year, and will now seek to expand its cards-as-a-service (CaaS) product to markets beyond the European Union, starting with the UK. To ..read more

Berlin-based fintech start-up Finmid has emerged from stealth backed by €35 million in early-stage equity funding. Finmid bags €35m in early-stage equity funding The funding round was led by UK-based VC Blossom Capital and was supported by existing investors Earlybird and N26 founder Max Tayenthal. Founded in 2021, Finmid provides financial infrastructure to enable B2B platforms to offer their small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers, such as restaurants or retailers, access to tailored financing support. The firm is positioning itself to take on traditional financial institutions whe ..read more

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Germany’s largest federal bank, has partnered with Bitpanda to bring cryptocurrency custody services to its corporate clients. Bitpanda to provide LBBW with its IaaS tech Bitpanda is set to provide LBBW with its Investment-as-a-Service (IaaS) infrastructure as the bank looks to offer its corporate clients “a regulated platform for the custody and procurement of crypto assets”. The companies state that a pilot for the bank’s cryptocurrency custody services is set to begin during the second half of 2024, with Bitpanda positioned to serve as the bank’s long ..read more