Revolut has finally struck a deal with primary backer SoftBank on a change to the latter's shareholding, clearing away a key obstacle in the fintech's long-running battle to obtain a UK banking licence.
The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has told Revolut it must collapse its six classes of shares into one and simplify its ownership structure in order to win the licence.
While other investors have agreed to transfer their shares to a single class, Revolut's primary backer SoftBank has been resisting the change, asking for twice the amount of stock Revolut is offering in exchange for giving up its preferential rights.
The FT reports that the two companies have now settled the matter after months of dispute over the issue. The agreement does not include any new issuance of shares to Softbank nor will it have a financial impact on the company, the FT report states.
Revolut has been waiting two-and-a-half years to win a UK banking licence, with the lengthy process attributed by some to concerns at the FCA over auditing, compliance and corporate culture issues.
Earlier this month it was reported that The Financial Conduct Authority is looking into whether Revolut allowed money to leave accounts flagged as suspicious by the National Crime Agency.
In the previous month it emerged that the company will delay filing its annual accounts for a second consecutive year.
The 2021 accounts were finally filed this March but auditor BDO flagged concerns that it could not verify £477m of revenue, nor vouch for their “completeness or occurrence”, due to the configuration of Revolut's internal IT systems.