This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Fintech Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here .
Some banks view fintech startups as a threat, and some see them as partners. But some are taking a third route: acquisition.
IDC and SAP surveyed 253 banking institutions, and one out of every five respondents said they mainly consider fintechs as potential acquisition targets. This would explain why so many banks are launching fintech acquisition programs.
Banks in different countries, however, view fintechs differently. Iberian banks (those in Spain and Portugal) are the most likely to view fintechs as acquisition targets, with 29% of respondents responding in this way. French banks, meanwhile, were the least likely at 14%.
Italian banks are the most likely to view fintechs as collaborators, as 47% of respondents see these companies as collaborators. The U.K. placed second at 40%, and France places last at 24%.
Furthermore, French banks were the most likely to see fintech companies as a threat, as 43% of respondents answered in this way, compared to just 20% in Italy and the U.K.
This desire for acquisitions in Spain tracks with data on Iberian banks. The country’s second-largest bank, BBVA, has made several fintech acquisitions in the last few years. It purchased Holvi, a Finnish banking services provider for small businesses, in March of this year, and it acquired and absorbed U.S. banking startup Simple in 2014.
Spain’s largest bank, Santander, is also investing in fintechs through the launch of a $100 million VC fund for fintech investments in July 2014.Iberian banks’ desire to acquire fintechs could lure venture investment to the region because it helps support the case for an exit strategy.Regardless of which approach the banks take, there is no denying that we’ve entered the most profound era of change for financial […]
