By Tatiana Bautzer
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian financial technology lender Creditas is raising $200 million from investors and buying a bank as well as a mortgage startup as it moves to increase profitability, Chief Executive Sergio Furio said in an interview.
The SoftBank-backed firm, which operates an online platform offering consumer loans, is buying the Brazilian banking license of Andorra’s Andbank and will begin accepting deposits.
“Getting retail deposits as a new alternative for funding will improve our margins,” Furio told Reuters. The lender previously funded itself only through the capital markets.
Andbank, which is globally focused on private banking and has $30 billion under management, will continue operating in Brazil as a broker dealer and asset manager. Creditas will distribute products from its credit portfolio to Andbank investors.
In the same interview, Andbank Chief Executive Carlos Aso said selling the banking license will reduce its capital needs, allowing growth in private banking and wealth management.
The $100 million deal needs to be approved by Brazil’s central bank and antitrust watchdog CADE. Creditas’ bank will have around 450 million reais ($83.5 million) in regulatory capital.
Andbank will become a minority shareholder in Creditas, participating in a $50 million extension of the funding round Series F, in which Creditas raised $260 million at a $4.8 billion valuation in January.
So far Creditas has raised $830 million from investors including SoftBank Group Corp, Fidelity Investments, Wellington Management, QED Investors, Kaszek, VEF and Santander fund InnoVentures. Furio said Creditas’ first-half revenue surged threefold from a year ago to 820 million reais.
The fintech also said it bought mortgage marketplace Kzas, allowing it to offer home loans from other lenders alongside the ones it already originates. Creditas also extends auto and payroll loans. Creditas is in talks to sell $150 million in convertible bonds to fund the deal, whose value was not disclosed.
Furio said the additional capital will also fund investment in electric motorcycles manufacturer Voltz Motors, which finished construction of a factory in the northern city of Manaus. Creditas invested 150 million reais in the company in May 2021.
($1 = 5.3906 reais)
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Josie Kao)
