(Investors' Chronicle) - Last year was a challenging time for the frothy fintech market as the sector struggled with rising interest rates and uncertain business models.
With some notable exceptions, valuations have crashed and backers have scarpered, which begs the question whether big banks, increasingly flush with cash as interest rates move in their favour, are preparing to snap up technology businesses in areas where they are traditionally weak.
On the less positive side for the fintech sector, there have been some spectacular blow-ups this year, particularly among those that fancied themselves as direct challengers to the banking sector.
A representative example is German firm Nuri, a crypto-focused challenger bank in operation for seven years, which had to file for insolvency in August - in the process losing its investors more than €42mn (£37mn). The company shut down in December.
By Julian Hofmann
January 3, 2023
