The macro-economic and financial market background is “unrecognisable” from where it was in 2021 when the M&A deal was initially announced, the bank said.
European digital assets specialist BCB Group yesterday said
its move to buy Hamburg-based Sutor Bank has been cancelled.
The initial deal, announced in December 2021, has been reversed
due to “recent banking market events and macroeconomic
changes,” BCB Group said in a statement.
“Whilst we still believe in the team at Sutor and their
innovative platforms, ultimately we recognise that in today’s
market, unrecognisable compared to the 2021 market, we can each
serve our clients on our own foundations more effectively than
via the deal originally agreed. In the near term, BCB provides a
more resilient service as a network of independent banks,” BCB
Group’s founder and CEO, Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, said.
The reference to the economic and banking market did not
specifically mention the sharp falls in cryptocurrencies such as
bitcoin, rising interest rates and the demise of Signature Bank and
Silicon
Valley Bank – both institutions with strong links to tech.
However, during the past two years sectors such as bitcoin and
entities such as “stablecoins” have been hit by selloffs to
technology stocks as well as regulatory uncertainties and the
demise
of US crypto exchange FTX,
among other measures.
Sutor Bank, founded in 1921 – as the December 2021 statement from
BCB had said – “is an independent diversified bank founded
in 1921, and one of the very few banks in Germany deeply
integrating with fintechs in the digital asset space.” It
offers portfolios of products such as savings plans, public
subsidised retirement plans or gold savings plans.
BCB’s statement referred to steps it is taking to spread and
control risks.
“There is…renewed focus from depositors on the safety of funds in
financial institutions, as well as attention from regulators on
the financial health of banks and the broader banking industry in
various jurisdictions, including Germany,” it said. “This has all
seen a shift in the near term balance between fintechs and ‘fully
licensed’ banks. By safeguarding customer funds with carefully
chosen banking partners, BCB Group can better protect its
customers with its UK API and imminent European licences, which
are currently in the pipeline.”
BCB Group, with offices in London, Switzerland and South Africa,
was founded in the UK in 2017 by Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie (CEO)
and Oliver Tonkin (general counsel), fellow MBA post graduates of
City of London’s Cass Business School. It was built to service
the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Senior figures have
worked for Barclays, Paysafe, Bitstamp, Coinbase, Credit Suisse,
Deutsche Bank, FIS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Investec, Lloyds
Commercial Bank, Luno, Norton Rose Fulbright, FIS and Sun Life of
Canada.
