8 December 2022
Fiinu Plc
("Fiinu", the "Company" or the "Group")
Business Update
Fiinu (AIM: BANK), a fintech company and creator of the Plugin Overdraft®, announces a further update on the progress the Group is making and the Group's current priorities for the remainder of the mobilisation phase.
Since the interim results announced on 29 September 2022, a number of the key technology deliverables have been developed and in line with the Group plan. The initial testing phase has commenced and will continue into the new year with development on track to complete pilot testing in H1 2023. Grant Thornton has been appointed to conduct an independent assurance programme in preparation for exiting mobilisation.
In addition, Fiinu continues to make encouraging progress with the recruitment of key staff. Charles Resnick has been approved by the regulators with effect from 1 December 2022 to perform the Chief Finance (SMF2) function and will shortly be appointed to the Board of Fiinu Bank[1]. Further announcements on future developments in these areas will be made as and when appropriate.
Given the current economic environment Fiinu has spent some time refreshing its approach to reflect the changes in inflation, cost of funds and customer appetite for the product. As previously disclosed in the Company's admission document, Fiinu's business plan is continuously analysed and updated throughout mobilisation. This revised business plan incorporates the projected average cost of funding and interest rate of overdraft borrowing, the spread between which could now result in an average Net Interest Margin for Fiinu Bank in excess of 15%, net of impairment.
Furthermore, as previously explained, in order for Fiinu Bank to satisfy its regulators' conditions to lift its deposit-taking restrictions and commence unrestricted operations, the Group will need, inter alia, to demonstrate that it has sufficient regulatory and working capital to exit the mobilisation period. Under its refined business plan, the Group is now estimating an increased capital requirement of c.£35-40 million. This is due to a decision to run some processes in parallel to accelerate technology development during mobilisation and general cost inflation in respect of operating costs since the original plan was agreed and implementation commenced.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
ENDS
Enquiries: | |
Fiinu plc Chris Sweeney, Chief Executive Officer Philip Tansey, Chief Financial Officer | via Brazil London (press office for Fiinu) |
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad) Mark Brady / Adam Dawes | Tel: +44 (0) 203 368 3550 |
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Joint Broker) Abigail Wayne / Matthew Johnson | Tel: +44 (0) 207 470 0470 |
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker) Stephen Jones / Atholl Tweedie (Corporate Finance) Tom Scrivens / Charles Leigh-Pemberton (Corporate Broking) | Tel: +44 (0)207 886 2500 |
Brazil London (press office for Fiinu) Joshua Van Raalte / Christine Webb / Jamie Lester | Tel: +44 (0) 207 785 7383 Email: fiinu@agencybrazil.com |
About Fiinu
Fiinu, founded in 2017, is a fintech group, including Fiinu Bank. Fiinu's Plugin Overdraft® is an unbundled overdraft solution which allows customers to have an overdraft with Fiinu Bank without changing their existing bank. The underlying Bank Independent Overdraft® technology platform is bank agnostic, allowing Fiinu Bank to serve all other banks' customers. Open Banking allows Fiinu's Plugin Overdraft® to attach ("plugin") to the customer's primary bank account, no matter which bank they may use. Fiinu's vision is built around Open Banking, and it believes that it increases competition and innovation in UK banking.
For more information, please visit www.fiinu.com.
[1] Fiinu Bank Limited obtained its UK deposit-taking banking licence with restrictions from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and with the consent of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in July 2022.
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