ABN Amro has doubled the size of its fintech fund as the Dutch bank bids to keep pace with the sheer weight of cash investors are feeding the sector.
The Amsterdam-based bank said its ABN Amro Ventures unit has lifted the size of its fund to €100m, from the €50m it raised just last year.
When the fund was first formed three years ago it was backed with €10m.
The business has made nine new investments, four follow-on investments and has had one exit, which was loans firm Cloud Lending Solutions last year.
‘Strengthening relationships’
The funds current investments include Swedish banking services start-up Tink, German challenger Solaris Bank and Israeli anti-money laundering platform Thetaray.
The fund said over the last three years it has “developed structural access to a crucial ecosystem of investors, companies and developers involved in the fintech community”.
ABN Amro Ventures director Hugo Bongers added: “Since the start of the fund we’ve seen great value in partnering with early-stage tech companies. By making investments, we aim to strengthen the strategic relationship and enhance ABN Amro’s products and services in a fast-changing environment to create added value for our clients.”
Investor funding for the fintech sector continues on apace, with $8.9bn raised in the third quarter of the year, according to research firm CB Insights, making it one of the busiest on record.
Fintech firms have raised a total $24.6bn for new companies so far this year, with most of that has focused on digital banking and wealth management.
