Brazil’s fintechs to ride out current storm

Once hailed as a Brazilian success story, the trajectory of fintech Nubank could be about to become a cautionary tale instead. The digital bank went public on the New York Stock Exchange last December with an IPO that pushed its value past USD 52 million and made it Latin America’s most valuable financial institution. Half a year on, things do not look so rosy: Nubank’s share prices are now valued at around 30 percent of their post-IPO quote.

As The Brazilian Report explained in the first edition of its Market Roundup in May, this trend is not restricted to Nubank — all publicly listed Brazilian fintechs have lost value this year.

The phenomenon is even a global one. Beyond Brazil, the stock value of fintechs is plummeting and investor interest is cooling. One reason for this is that fintechs enjoyed an unusual boom during the pandemic and that the market is now adjusting as Covid recedes.

Domestic factors are also at play in Brazil, most notably the looming risk of households falling into insolvency. As the cost of living surges, more Brazilian households are taking on...