Kraken's parent is buying a Lithuanian bank that made under 1 million euros in 2025
Kraken parent Payward is buying Saldo Finance, owner of a Lithuanian bank, at an undisclosed price, with closing expected in 2027. Closing needs regulatory approvals, and one deal is thin evidence that exchanges now buy banks.
The Investor · Invest desk
Key figures for Saldo Bank: a net profit of 0.96 million euros in 2025, against a net loss of 2.39 million euros a year earlier, and a loan portfolio worth 124 million euros.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saldo Bank net profit, 2025 | 0.96 million euros | 9 | |
| Net loss, a year earlier | 2.39 million euros | 9 | |
| Loan portfolio | 124 million euros | 8 |
What happened
- The European Central Bank authorizes Saldo Bank and the Bank of Lithuania supervises it, and the deal announcement says ownership would let Payward offer banking services across the European Economic Area.
- Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the plan is to bring cash, crypto, tokenized stocks and credit into one system so customers can borrow and lend against their assets without selling them.
- Saldo Bank has held its EU licence since 2021 and began operating in Lithuania in February 2023.
- Payward applied in May for a national trust company charter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a separate approval that is still pending.
Why it matters
- constraint A US trust charter of the kind Payward applied for cannot take deposits, so the deposit side of any bank-style product sits with Saldo's licence.
- precedent The FT calls this the first purchase of a European bank by a digital asset company, so Saldo's price, once disclosed, becomes the only comparable other exchanges have.
- exposure A slip in Saldo's approvals would land in the same period as an IPO already pushed to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest.
Saldo's earnings cannot be what Payward is paying for. The 2025 profit equals 0.77% of the bank's 124 million euro loan portfolio [8][9][20], and the 3.35 million euro swing from the previous year's loss [19] only looks large because the base was negative. Ten times that profit is 9.6 million euros [26] (ten is our yardstick, not a term of the deal), so any price above it pays for the licence and for clients in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany [7]. Crypto Briefing wrote that Payward appears to be paying as much for the licence and the regulatory standing as for the existing business [24]. For scale, Payward's acquisitions of Bitnomial in April and Reap in May came to $1.15 billion between them [21].
The price can land three ways. Near 9.6 million euros, Saldo is a cheap option on a licence. Well above it, the licence is expensive, and the case for buying has to rest on a saving the sources do not quantify (they do not say how long a new EU application would have taken, so no time saved can be computed). Or the approvals take longer than planned [3], and Crypto Briefing noted that the expected close leaves plenty of time for conditions, delays or shifts in EU policy [25].
Payward has a second approval pending. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC this month, arguing that granting trust charters to crypto firms exceeds the regulator's authority [14]. "Any non-fiduciary firm seeking the benefits of a federal bank charter should meet the same standards as community banks," ICBA President and CEO Rebecca Romero Rainey said in a statement [15]. If the suit succeeds, the US route narrows and Saldo would be the only deposit-taking licence Payward holds. If it fails, Payward could hold both, and Saldo would be the one that takes deposits.
Sethi gave customer demand as the reason. "One of the biggest things that our customers have been asking us is 'I would like to get products and services and offerings similar to what I get with another bank,'" Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi told the FT [10].
In our view the sources support a narrower claim than the idea that exchanges now buy charters to skip approvals: one exchange, one bank, and a timetable that still runs through regulators. The counter-thesis is that peers face the same customer request Sethi describes and will buy too, and Crypto Briefing's reading is that the deal could spark more fintech M&A [23]. A second exchange announcing a bank purchase in the European Economic Area before Saldo closes would prove us wrong.
What to watch
- Any disclosure of Saldo's price, set against the 9.6 million euro yardstick (ten times 2025 profit) used above.
- The ICBA lawsuit against the OCC and the OCC's decision on Payward's May trust charter application.
- A second crypto exchange announcing a bank purchase in the European Economic Area before Saldo closes, or approvals slipping past 2027.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence58
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives55
- Confidence62
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Payward, parent of crypto exchange Kraken, announced on October 14, 2026 that it would acquire Saldo Finance, the parent company of Saldo Bank, with the stated goal of pushing into lending and card services.
- [2]
The financial terms of the Saldo transaction were not disclosed.
- [3]
The deal is expected to close in 2027, pending regulatory approvals.
- [4]
Saldo Bank has held its EU licence since 2021 and began operating in Lithuania in February 2023.
- [5]
Saldo offers consumer and business loans as well as term deposits.
- [6]
Saldo Bank is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania and authorized by the European Central Bank; according to the deal announcement, owning Saldo would let Payward offer banking services across the European Economic Area.
- [7]
Saldo Bank serves clients in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, and holds permissions in the Netherlands.
- [8]
Saldo Bank's loan portfolio is worth 124 million euros.
- [9]
Saldo Bank posted a net profit of 0.96 million euros in 2025; a year earlier it recorded a loss of 2.39 million euros.
- [10]
"One of the biggest things that our customers have been asking us is 'I would like to get products and services and offerings similar to what I get with another bank,'" Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi told the FT.
- [11]
Sethi said the plan is to bring cash, crypto, tokenized stocks and credit together in a single system, so customers can borrow and lend against their assets without selling them.
- [12]
Payward applied in May for a national trust company charter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
- [13]
Coinbase and Ripple have received conditional approval for national trust charters, which let them hold customers' assets and provide transaction services but not take deposits.
- [14]
This month the Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC, arguing that granting trust charters to crypto firms exceeds the regulator's authority.
- [15]
"Any non-fiduciary firm seeking the benefits of a federal bank charter should meet the same standards as community banks," ICBA President and CEO Rebecca Romero Rainey said in a statement.
- [16]
Payward made a $550 million acquisition of derivatives exchange Bitnomial in April.
- [17]
Payward made a $600 million purchase of Asian stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies in May.
- [18]
Kraken filed confidentially for an IPO last November but has pushed the listing back to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest, CoinDesk reported in September, citing people familiar with the matter.
- [19]
Saldo Bank's result swung by 3.35 million euros between the prior year and 2025.
- [20]
Saldo Bank's 2025 net profit equals about 0.77% of its loan portfolio.
- [21]
Payward's Bitnomial and Reap acquisitions came to $1.15 billion between them.
- [22]
Payward is the first digital asset company to buy a bank in Europe, according to the Financial Times.
- [23]
Crypto Briefing wrote that the research behind the deal suggests it could spark further mergers and acquisitions in fintech as firms race to build fuller infrastructure for crypto-savvy customers.
- [24]
Crypto Briefing wrote that Payward appears to be paying for the license and the regulatory standing as much as for the existing business.
- [25]
Crypto Briefing noted that the expected 2027 close leaves plenty of time for conditions, delays or shifts in EU policy.
- [26]
Ten times Saldo Bank's 2025 net profit is 9.6 million euros; the multiple of ten is the desk's own yardstick, not a deal term.
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Sources
4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- crypto.newsKraken parent Payward signs deal to buy European bank
1 article · October 14, 2026
- cryptobriefing.comKraken parent Payward moves to acquire Lithuania’s Saldo Bank
1 article · October 14, 2026
- decrypt.coKraken Owner Payward to Buy Lithuania's Saldo Bank in EU Push
1 article · October 14, 2026
- pymnts.comPayward Expands Banking Reach by Acquiring Finland’s Saldo
1 article · October 14, 2026
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