In December 2024, the Financial Supervision Authority (FSA) presented Bigbank AS with the outcome of the annual Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) capital adequacy calculation. As a result of the evaluation, the FSA decided to leave the Pillar 2 capital requirements for Bigbank AS unchanged.

According to the decision of FSA, a requirement for own funds (P2R) in the amount of 3.2% from the total risk exposure amount (TREA) applies to Bigbank AS on consolidated basis, of which at least 2.4% must be covered with Core Tier 1 own funds and at least 1.8% with Tier 1 capital. This means that the Pillar 2 capital requirement remains the same as in the previous year.

The FSA has decided to keep the Pillar 2 guidance (P2G), applicable to Bigbank AS on consolidated basis, on the same level compared to last year, which is 1.5% from the TREA.

The renewed P2R and P2G ratios are applicable from 01.01.2025.

Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu), with over 30 years of operating history, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of 31 October 2024, the bank’s total assets amounted to 2.7 billion euros, with equity of 267.6 million euros. Operating in nine countries, the bank serves more than 150,000 active customers and employs over 500 people. The credit rating agency Moody’s has assigned Bigbank a long-term deposit rating of Ba1, as well as a baseline credit assessment (BCA) and adjusted BCA of Ba2.

For additional information:
Argo Kiltsmann
Member of the Management Board
Phone: +372 5393 0833
E-mail: argo.kiltsmann@bigbank.ee
Website: www.bigbank.ee

Salesforce (CRM) and Okta (OKTA) report earnings after the closing bell, providing insights into the software space. Marvell Technology (MRVL) also announces results. Markets are hovering around the flat line following record closes for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) . With President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in the White House quickly approaching, investors are weighing the impacts of the former president’s tariff policies. Palantir (PLTR), AT&T (T), and Meta Platforms (META) are among the trading tickers on Yahoo Finance’s platform.

Key guests include:
3:00 p.m. ET – Jeffrey Kleintop, Charles Schwab Chief Global Investment Strategist
3:30 p.m. ET – Andy Nemeth, Patrick Industries CEO
3:45 p.m. ET – David Chiavarini, Wedbush Securities Managing Director of Equity Research for Mid-Cap and Regional Banks
4:15 p.m. ET – Steve Quirk, Robinhood Chief Brokerage Officer
4:45 p.m. ET – Matt Garman, AWS CEO

Sometimes, the easiest way to find a great idea for a startup is to look beyond the current problem you’re solving for your customers.

That’s exactly what worked for the founders of KPay. Davis Chan and his co-founders previously helped small and medium-sized merchants optimize their revenue and traffic in Asia, but they eventually noticed how inefficient managing payments and finances was for their customers.

Traditional financial solutions for merchants and SMBs do not effectively cater to the modern needs for business agility, integration, and data-informed decision-making, Chan said. “This fragmented approach results in inefficiencies, higher costs, and a lack of actionable business insights.”

That insight led them to start KPay, a one-stop financial management platform for merchants and SMBs. The company has seen decent traction in the three years since its inception: It now serves 45,000 merchants in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, and partners with more than 150 SaaS providers, banks, and financial service firms. The company says it aims to increase its partnerships to serve more businesses in Asia.

“We’re investing in payment technologies that offer greater flexibility, speed, and security to merchants to accept all major payments, supporting payroll, bill settlement, and both local and global remittance as a unified financial management platform,” Chan told TechCrunch.

Investors certainly seem to have noticed the opportunity here: KPay recently secured $55 million in a Series A round led by London-based investment firm Apis Partners.

The fresh cash from the Series A will be put toward product development, as well as enhancing its go-to-market speed, improving customer experience through organic growth, and expanding into new Asian markets and supporting inorganic growth strategies such as strategic mergers and acquisitions, Christopher Yu, CFO of KPay, told TechCrunch. In addition, the startup is exploring how AI will improve the merchant experience, increase operational efficiency, and boost revenues.

Yu did not provide specific details about KPay’s revenue and profitability but said its revenue had achieved a compound annual growth rate of 166% since its inception.

“Looking ahead, our goal is to enable 1 million merchants within the next five years, creating an inclusive digital economy where neighborhood businesses have the same opportunities as major brands,” Chan said.

The company has about 440 staff across its bases in Hong Kong and Singapore.