Narayan AmmachchiJapanese investment group Softbank has invested an undisclosed sum of money in Brazil’s digital bank Banco Inter, injecting new-found energy into Brazilian fintech industry.
According to a report from Reuters, the investor group picked up a 5% stake in the bank by participating in a share-offering event recently. This is Softbank’s second major investment in the Brazilian banking sector after it sank around US$ 200 million in Creditas, a provider of secured loans.
Banco Inter looks far more lucrative than Creditas, because it is competing with the country’s startup unicorn Nubank and offers fee-free digital banking services by utilizing a cutting-edge technology. Banco Inter stated that it would use the proceeds from the deal to invest in technology and acquire smaller rivals in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America.
Inter has been a stock traders’ favorite, with Bloomberg saying that the company’s share increased 400% in value after it went public about 15 months ago.
Originally founded to finance real estate projects in cities like Sao Paulo, Banco Inter lends loans online without charging any fees on transactions. Today, the number of clients has surged to 2.5 million from roughly 500,000 in March 2018, according to Reuters.
After picking up the stake, Softbank will now help Banco Inter to acquire more cutting-edge financial technology assets and win more clients, according to the Brazilian press.
Add comment