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Image credits: bunq

In the latest development, Amsterdam-based challenger bank, bunq has reportedly secured €160M investment at a valuation of €1.65B. The Dutch company raised this investment from an undisclosed British private equity firm for 10 per cent of the equity. 

The name of the new shareholder remains unknown for the time being, but it would be a specialised private equity house from the City of London, according to Het Financieele Dagblad. 

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Silicon Canals reached out to bunq to confirm this development, but the Dutch bank declined to comment on this topic. 

Approval pending

However, De Nederlandsche Bank is yet to approve the funding round deal, as it also involves bunq acquiring an SME lender from the British investor’s portfolio. To date, the company has raised €205M in funding, out of which around €100M was contributed by the founder Ali Niknam.  

Ali Niknam’s fintech conmpany has been affected by the negative interest rate in the recent past for the mandatory storage of excess cash in Frankfurt. In fact, he has been contributing millions of dollars, charged by European Central Bank. 

The acquisition of a lender, part of the investment, would enable Bunq to easily put away capital, claims the report. 

Furthermore, the bunq investment portfolio is well-spread over different issuer types: governments, financial institutions, corporates, and covered bonds. 

Expanded to France

Earlier this month, Dutch challenger bank expanded its operation into France with French IBANs and a new office in Paris. The company also rolled out Update 17 with a slew of features and improved design for its mobile application. 

€1B in user deposits

The company reached €1B in user deposits based on May 2021 data, however, it didn’t reveal any statistics about the number of account holders to date. 

Back in April, bunq joined TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service to offer instant payments across Europe. Notably, bunq is the first challenger bank to do so. TIPS was developed by the European Central Bank. 

Available in 30 European markets

bunq was founded in 2012 by Ali Niknam, who managed to get the first European banking permit in over 35 years. 

bunq is currently available in 30 European markets: the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Ireland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Iceland.