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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

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Illustration accompanying Kraken's parent is buying a Lithuanian bank that made under 1 million euros in 2025
Generated illustration
Saldo Bank went from a loss to a profit in 2025 Saldo Bank's net result in 2025 and a year earlier, beside the value of its loan portfolio.

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.

Saldo Bank went from a loss to a profit in 2025
FigureValueNoteClaim
Saldo Bank net profit, 20250.96 million euros9
Net loss, a year earlier2.39 million euros9
Loan portfolio124 million euros8

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

  • What it limits 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.
  • What it sets up 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.
  • Who's exposed 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][19], and the 3.35 million euro swing from the previous year's loss [18] only looks large because the base was negative. Ten times that profit is 9.6 million euros [20] (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 [6]. Crypto Briefing wrote that Payward appears to be paying as much for the licence and the regulatory standing as for the existing business [26]. For scale, Payward's acquisitions of Bitnomial in April and Reap in May came to $1.15 billion between them [23].

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 [11].

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 [16]. "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 [17]. 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 [12].

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 [25]. 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.

Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence68
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+20
Incentives45
Confidence72

Perspective Coverage

11 publishers
Builder
Builder 24%
Operator
Operator 41%
Investor
Investor 35%
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [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.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
  2. [2]

    The financial terms of the Saldo transaction were not disclosed.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto Briefing; Decrypt also reports the price was not disclosedView cited source
  3. [3]

    The deal is expected to close in 2027, pending regulatory approvals.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto Briefing; Decrypt reports the sameView cited source
  4. [4]

    Payward is the first digital asset company to buy a bank in Europe, according to the Financial Times.

    Reported Supported Source: Financial Times, as reported by DecryptView cited source
  5. [5]

    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.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto Briefing, citing the deal announcementView cited source
  6. [6]

    Saldo Bank serves clients in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, and holds permissions in the Netherlands.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
  7. [7]

    Saldo Bank has held its EU licence since 2021 and began operating in Lithuania in February 2023.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
  8. [8]

    Saldo Bank's loan portfolio is worth 124 million euros.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
  9. [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.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
  10. [10]

    Saldo offers consumer and business loans as well as term deposits.

    Reported Supported Source: Decrypt, citing the Financial TimesView cited source
  11. [11]

    Crypto Briefing noted that the expected 2027 close leaves plenty of time for conditions, delays or shifts in EU policy.

    Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
  12. [12]

    "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.

    Reported Supported Source: Arjun Sethi, Payward co-CEO, to the Financial Times, via DecryptView cited source
  13. [13]

    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.

    Reported Supported Source: Arjun Sethi, via DecryptView cited source
  14. [14]

    Payward applied in May for a national trust company charter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

    Reported Supported Source: DecryptView cited source
  15. [15]

    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.

    Reported Supported Source: DecryptView cited source
  16. [16]

    This month the Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC, arguing that granting trust charters to crypto firms exceeds the regulator's authority.

    Reported Supported Source: DecryptView cited source
  17. [17]

    "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.

    Reported Supported Source: Rebecca Romero Rainey, ICBA, via DecryptView cited source
  18. [18]

    Saldo Bank's result swung by 3.35 million euros between the prior year and 2025.

    Derived Supported
  19. [19]

    Saldo Bank's 2025 net profit equals about 0.77% of its loan portfolio.

    Derived Supported
  20. [20]

    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.

    Derived Supported
  21. [21]

    Payward made a $550 million acquisition of derivatives exchange Bitnomial in April.

    Reported Contested Source: DecryptView cited source
  22. [22]

    Payward made a $600 million purchase of Asian stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies in May.

    Reported Contested Source: DecryptView cited source
  23. [23]

    Payward's Bitnomial and Reap acquisitions came to $1.15 billion between them.

    Derived Contested
  24. [24]

    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.

    Reported Insufficient Source: CoinDesk, citing people familiar with the matter, via DecryptView cited source
  25. [25]

    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.

    Reported Insufficient Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
  26. [26]

    Crypto Briefing wrote that Payward appears to be paying for the license and the regulatory standing as much as for the existing business.

    Reported Insufficient Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source

Sources

11 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. coindesk.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken parent Payward to become first crypto firm to buy a EU bank as it expands into deposits, lending
  2. cointelegraph.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken parent to buy Lithuanian Saldo Bank amid TradFi expansion
  3. crypto.news

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken parent Payward signs deal to buy European bank
  4. cryptobriefing.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken parent Payward moves to acquire Lithuania’s Saldo Bank
  5. cryptopolitan.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken parent Payward agrees to buy Saldo Bank for an EU banking license
  6. cryptoslate.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken moves to acquire $181 million European bank in major push beyond crypto trading
  7. decrypt.co

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken Owner Payward to Buy Lithuania's Saldo Bank in EU Push
  8. fortune.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken parent company Payward to become first crypto firm to buy a European Bank
  9. news.bitcoin.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Kraken’s Parent Company Moves to Acquire a Bank in Europe
  10. pymnts.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Payward Expands Banking Reach by Acquiring Finland’s Saldo
  11. thepaypers.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Payward to acquire Saldo Finance, parent of Lithuania’s Saldo Bank

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