Klarna said Friday (March 14) that it publicly filed a registration form on Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed initial public offering of its ordinary shares.

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,” the company said in a Friday press release. “Klarna has applied to list its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘KLAR.’”

In a letter included in the Form F-1, Klarna CEO and Co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski wrote that the company’s offerings, including its buy now, pay later (BNPL) feature, have drawn close to 100 million people.

“It is an amazingly diverse group of people with really one thing in common: their resentment of traditional banks,” Siemiatkowski wrote. “They want simple and transparent fees. They want to avoid mishap fees. They want fixed and clear payoff horizons for major purchases. Ultimately, they want a bank that delivers trust by putting their interests first — and yes, preferably interest-free.”

Klarna said in the Form F-1 that as of Dec. 31, it had 93 million active consumers and 675,000 merchants. It also had gross merchandise value (GMV) of $105 billion, revenue of $2.8 billion and net profit of $21 million as of that time, the firm said.

Addressing potential investors in his letter, Siemiatkowski wrote: “For those who join us, you’re not just investing in a company — you’re investing in a new era of finance.”

It was reported March 6 that Klarna was perhaps days away from filing for its IPO and that unnamed sources said the company hopes to raise at least $1 billion, with plans to price the IPO early in April. The same sources said the company is targeting a value of more than $15 billion when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange.

Klarna said in November that it “confidentially submitted” a draft registration statement for an IPO to the SEC.

A month earlier, Chrysalis Investments increased the value of its stake in Klarna, giving the company an implied valuation of roughly $14.6 billion.

Block said Thursday (March 13) that its industrial bank, Square Financial Services (SFS), received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to offer the company’s consumer loan product Cash App Borrow.

SFS will begin servicing and originating Cash App Borrow loans nationwide in the coming weeks, replacing Block’s current external bank partner, Block said in a Thursday press release.

Cash App Borrow provides small, short-term consumer loans — typically less than $100 and about one month in duration — to Cash App customers in a simple and accessible way that includes making payments within Cash App, according to the release.

The short-term credit product saw nearly $9 billion in originations in 2024 offered by Block through its external bank partner. Most customers pay on time, and the product’s historic loss rates are under 3%, the release said.

SFS will continue to offer business loans through Square Loans and interest-bearing business savings accounts through Square Savings, per the release.

“Across Block we’re focused on building technology to increase access to the economy, and Square Financial Services is a critical tool in helping us deliver on that,” Amrita Ahuja, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Block and executive chairwoman of the board of directors for SFS, said in the release. “The bank allows us to provide a clear path to cash flow using our proven underwriting mechanisms for businesses and now consumers who are not well served by the traditional banking and credit systems.”

Block executives said during a Feb. 20 earnings call that the company plans to continue doubling down on traditional banking territory in the year ahead, as it did for much of the past fiscal year.

For example, executives pointed to Cash App’s continuing evolution that has included the addition of an expanded suite of banking features including high-yield savings, paycheck allocation to investments and free tax filing. They noted that Cash App Borrow’s nearly $9 billion in originations demonstrates strong demand for micro-lending services.

In a shareholder letter, Block said: “Our goal is to make Cash App the top provider of banking services to households in the United States that earn up to $150,000 per year.”

At JPMorgan Chase, revenue recently surged 21%, to $7 billion. The bank has never had a better fourth quarter. The equities business at Goldman Sachs raked in $13.4 billion for 2024, another record-setting result. Morgan Stanley far exceeded analysts’ expectations in the fourth quarter, as well. Despite some temporary shocks caused by policy uncertainty from the new administration, 2025 has also shown strong performance so far. But Wall Street’s blockbuster results obscure a larger, structural problem with the finance community’s approach to the many serious challenges we face today — playing a reactive game of whack a mole with each new crisis that pops up. 

Whether it’s the apocalyptic images of whole neighborhoods razed by wildfires in Los Angeles (or hurricane-battered cities like Houston and Tampa before that); the economic dislocations caused by American tariffs on our largest trade partners and further inflation; or the intense uncertainty surrounding the emergence of generative AI, perpetual crisis seems to be the new normal. And the finance community — while flush and in the mood for dealmaking — is trapped in a reactive stance, unable to take a more proactive, thoughtful and strategic approach that anticipates the ways in which our world is transforming.

What would that approach look like? 

First, it would acknowledge the need for significant industrialization: lithium processing facilities, modular nuclear reactors, biomanufacturing plants, compute capacity and novel electrical assembly operations. For far too long, Wall Street’s capital has flowed primarily to digital and consumer-focused assets, while heavy industry — increasingly indispensable to economic security — has struggled to attract the scale of financing required to thrive in the new, globally hypercompetitive era that’s now upon us.

Second, it would recognize that the benefits of these investments — though they will take years to materialize — are essential to whether we continue to win, and that to meet the moment, Wall Street needs to quickly align itself with this long-term vision. 

Third, a better approach can help realize a new industrial asset class: the bio-manufacturing plants, the networks of data centers we desperately need, and the specialty manufacturing for tool and die making. But only if we figure out how to finance them. 

If capital markets fail to support new industrial projects — from new semiconductor foundries to clean energy infrastructure — the U.S. risks falling behind, ceding industrial and technological leadership to foreign competitors. Our ambitions will only be realized if private investment, public policy and industry innovation work in tandem, and work fast. 

History reminds us of what’s at stake if we don’t adapt and how entire nations have fallen behind in worst-case scenarios.

Germany’s shift to renewable energy starting in the early 2000s was not immediately matched by its financial sector, which was slow to finance renewable projects. It took years before banks and investors fully backed the transition, leaving much of the early capital needs to government subsidies. Similarly, despite the rapid adoption of mobile payments worldwide in the 2010s, many Indian banks were initially slow to invest in digital infrastructure. This misstep allowed third-party tech players like Paytm to dominate the market while major banks had to play catch-up.

But history has also shown that when markets adjust to emerging challenges, those ready to think creatively and embrace change stand to gain the most.

To remain resilient, the United States needs to pivot to new models of blended finance to invest in new industrial infrastructure. Established financial players, alongside venture firms, family offices and institutional investors have a vital role to play in marshaling resources for this new era. We can meet this challenge by providing targeted products that address the needs of this “missing middle” — those ventures too large for venture capital alone but not yet suited to traditional public markets. 

We’ve done it before. Finance can be an adaptive industry. Consider the rise and dominance of investment banking in the 1980s, spurred by deregulation, relaxed antitrust laws and lower taxes. Or Wall Street shifting to accommodate the rise of personal technology in the 1990s. Similarly, the growth of the internet and new methods of electronic trading demolished barriers to entry and spawned thousands of lucrative hedge funds.

In facing another industrial revolution, we would do well to remember the lessons of an earlier success, beginning in the 1870s. With European powers asserting new imperial dominance abroad, the U.S. faced pressure to strengthen its economic foundations at home. This competitive landscape spurred the American government and private sector to adopt innovative financing models, particularly in building the transcontinental railroads that became the backbone of economic growth and innovation. Blended financing that combined equity, private debt and public investment enabled these massive infrastructure projects to materialize, creating a resilient economy capable of holding its own amid turbulent geopolitical shifts.

If the private sector, policymakers and investors fail to evolve now, the promise of this new era will remain elusive. A commitment to reshaping American manufacturing with a focus on innovation and productivity could hold the key, but only if we recognize the urgency and act accordingly. As we enter a new age as a nation, America is faced with a choice: Either continue with the status quo that only reacts to the latest dislocation or adapt by adopting an economic model that unlocks a new industrial revolution.