Author of the article:
SAO PAULO — Brazilian digital bank Nubank
plans to triple its client base in Brazil organically by
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focusing on areas in which it can be competitive, Chief
Executive David Vélez said in an interview with Reuters on
Thursday.
Vélez also confirmed the fintech’s interest in acquisitions,
two weeks after hiring former Amazon.com Inc executive
Alex Ceballos to lead a new mergers and acquisitions division.
Vélez said acquisitions should target complementary
businesses, but noted that Nubank does not want large deals and
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sees organic growth as its main driver.
Nubank has been gradually increasing its offerings,
including digital accounts, insurance and investment products.
Revenue per client rose 105% in the second quarter compared
to a year earlier, Vélez said. Over the last 12 months, the
number of clients rose 51% to 62.3 million, including 50 million
who remain active.
Vélez said Nubank has the potential to triple the number of
clients, reaching a larger portion of Brazil’s 215 million
population.
While Nubank plans to increase its assets, the CEO said that
could be done through partnerships, such as having Creditas
offer auto loans or mortgages to Nubank clients.
Nubank will avoid areas where it is not competitive, Vélez
said, such as corporate services, and it does not want to expand
beyond Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.
Velez said as Nubank has much lower costs than the large
banks it competes with, “the goal over time is to have return on
equity much larger than they have.”
(Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer;
Editing by Richard Chang)
