“The transition has to be natural towards a bank, because the services and the range of services will continue to expand. But beyond that, what we see as something important is the consolidation of a sector that will continue to move forward,” said Marmolejo.
Finsus seeks banking license
Finsus It operates under a license from Sociedad Financiera Popular (Sofipo) and has assets of 9.9 billion pesos, making it the third largest only behind Nu and Caja Libertad. As of March 2024, it had 124,188 clients, according to figures from the CNBV, although the platform has said it has more than 260,000.
Sofipo operates mainly in Mexico City; Monterrey, Nuevo León; and Guadalajara, Jalisco, and has reached 30% of municipalities with less than 15,000 inhabitants.
The platform offers accounts with returns, credits and the plan with the banking license is to expand the range of products, especially payroll products.
Marmolejo said that they are ready to operate as a bank with a strong institutional body and with the requirements for the granting of credit just like banks do.
“We have the possibility with the numbers we have in growth and with the strength we have. Today we already operate as a bank: we have a governing body that operates as a bank, we already comply with our credit regulation. 92% of our placed credit is based on the single circular of banks for granting credits, risk measurement and estimation of reserves. So it is a very natural step for us to take the next step. We are already complying with many of the banking regulations,” Marmolejo highlighted.
The challenge with the Sofipo license is that the deposit insurance is 25,000 UDIS, which is equivalent to more than 205,000 pesos, while a banking license protects savers for up to 3.2 million pesos.
Marmolejo pointed out that 96% of the platform’s clients do not have more than 189,000 pesos, so for the moment they can operate with the Sofipo license and later compete with traditional banking.
The company also plans to expand its coverage abroad, although that will take a few more months.
Finsus numbers
By March of this year, Finsus had raised 8.2 billion pesos in funds from its clients who were attracted by the “rate war” in which the platform offered double-digit returns.
The platform’s clients have been attracted by the ease of digital contracting and the yields offered of up to 16%.
Regarding the credit portfolio, data up to March from the CNBV show that Finsus has placed more than 5.1 billion pesos in loans, although they say they have 6.3 billion pesos in their credit portfolio. It also highlights that 73% of the loans they gave to people without a history were paid in full.
It also highlights that 76% of loans to people with a bad credit rating were settled.
