Private credit investors head for the door (TWIF 4/3)

Hello Fintech Friends,

Welcome to the new readers who’ve joined us since last week. You’re joining 170,000+ other subscribers (we did some spring cleaning). Today's newsletter is brought to you by our friends at Alumni Ventures.

Lots to cover in today’s newsletter (as always?)

Some cool product launches this week from SoFi, Navan, Nium, and Visa — all in the vein of our two big themes of the year: stablecoins and AI.

More exciting fintech M&A and fundraises to profile this weekend.

And… the tide seems to be going out for private credit? Driving the news this week, Goldman is developing an investor product to short private credit lending portfolios that is in such high demand that it has to reassure eager investors waiting to onboard. Meanwhile, funds like Blue Owl face escalating calls for redemptions, exposure spreads to insurance companies and retail as buyers of last-resort, and withdrawals have been halted at several funds.

The stress level does not (yet) appear to be systemic, but when you see issuers advocating for putting their assets in 401ks or selling them to retail, that’s usually a signal that you’re late in the cycle. It remains to be seen whether performance concerns (1) are actually borne out by credit quality and (2) remain confined to a few funds or more widespread.

In much happier news, I was thrilled this week for the announcement of Stablecon’s Policy Council! We’ve brought together the best minds shaping the conversation around the legislative and regulatory treatment of stablecoins.

Thank you to our inaugural council members for joining us to drive stablecoins forward in the US. 🇺🇸

Please enjoy another week of fintech and banking news below.

Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm

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Visa unveiled a suite of new digital services aimed at modernizing and streamlining the dispute resolution process for merchants and issuers and launched a dedicated subscription management tool with Pinwheel to help consumers track, cancel, and manage their recurring digital payments.

CaixaBank rolled out cryptocurrency investment services, allowing its customers to trade and hold digital assets directly through their banking app.

Swift confirmed that its blockchain-based shared ledger will go live with live commercial transactions later this year.

In the wake of its continued haphazard foreign policy decisions, the US is experiencing net outflows of foreign central bank treasuries holdings. International official holdings at the New York Federal Reserve fell to their lowest levels since 2012, dropping by over $82 billion since February 25th.

JPMorgan unveiled its "American Dream Initiative," a new program focused on expanding homeownership and financial health in underserved communities.

The Financial Times reported on the rising competitive tensions between traditional banks and fintech disruptors over the future of digital wealth management.

Elizabeth Warren challenged YouTube star MrBeast regarding his acquisition of teen-focused fintech Step, raising concerns over consumer protections for younger users.

SoFi introduced its "Big Business Banking" suite, a banking product that combines fiat and cryptocurrency holdings in a regulated platform for corporate clients.

Chime launched Chime Prime, a new premium membership tier that introduces rewards for its secured credit card like 5% cash back.

Navan unveiled an AI-driven audit engine specifically engineered to detect and prevent corruption within corporate travel and expense reporting.

Public deployed new AI agents designed to provide retail investors with high-level data analysis and sophisticated portfolio tools.

Nium debuted a stablecoin card issuance platform with Visa which enables businesses to bridge the gap between their stablecoin holdings and real-world payments.

Wise challenged traditional high street lenders by launching a full-featured UK current account aimed at international consumers.

Relay expanded its financial ecosystem with "Relay Capital," providing small businesses with streamlined access to growth funding directly through their banking platform.

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The Finanser explored the evolving landscape of digital banking, highlighting how traditional financial structures are being replaced by interconnected, real-time value networks.

Valt Bank secured a de novo bank charter, clearing the regulatory path for the digital-native institution to offer full-scale banking services.

Monzo surpassed the 15 million customer milestone, reinforcing its position as a dominant force in the digital banking sector.

Plaid’s * CFO discussed the potential for a public debut.

Ramp and Visa deepened their partnership focused on payments AI; Ramp will work more closely with the Visa Intelligent Commerce and the Visa Trusted Agent Protocol on programs designed to fully automate the complex workflows of corporate bill payments.

Interactive Brokers launched cryptocurrency trading services across Europe, utilizing infrastructure provided by Zero Hash* to facilitate digital asset transactions.

Xero collaborated with Anthropic to integrate AI-driven financial intelligence tools designed to assist small business owners with automated insights and reporting.

Monzo shrank its global footprint: After the neobank’s second attempt to enter the US market, it is once again shutting down to refocus on the UK and Europe.

Mercado Libre shuttered its Mercado Coin digital token program, concluding a multi-year experiment with crypto-integrated loyalty rewards.

TomoCredit pivoted its brand strategy, moving away from aggressive credit-boosting promises — for which it faces multiple lawsuits — to focus on financial coaching and education.

Solaris cut 20% of its workforce as the firm restructured to transition into a lean, AI-native banking platform.

Zero ceased all trading activities, marking the end for the ethical savings app after it failed to secure necessary funding.