Capital markets

Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of USD Coin, the second-largest stablecoin, landed $400 million in funding from a group that includes BlackRock and Fidelity Management and Research, a sign of traditional finance’s growing acceptance of the exploding cryptocurrency industry.

Ramp, a startup that offers corporate cards and other finance tools to businesses, raised $750 million in a funding round that valued the fintech at $8.1 billion.

Gauntlet, a financial-risk modeling platform for crypto lending, raised a new round of funding that pushed its valuation to $1 billion.

Revolut’s Chief Revenue Officer Alan Chang is leaving the U.K. financial technology startup for a new cryptocurrency venture and is seeking to raise roughly $100 million in financing.

The industry is contending with trading volatility, the economic effects of soaring energy prices and the risk of prolonged high inflation following Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. Citigroup, TD and Comerica are among the banks that have commented on how their businesses may be affected.

Zeta Services, a banking and credit card technology unicorn, has raised $30 million from investors including Mastercard, and the two announced a five-year collaboration to help customers launch credit card services.  

The move confirms speculation that the Federal Housing Finance Agency would return to a pre-pandemic plan to tighten requirements for mortgage lenders and servicers that work with two government-sponsored enterprises.

Mobile payments got an early start in parts of Africa more than a decade ago, but the continent's overall banking infrastructure lags far behind, creating a void for companies like AZA and WorldRemit to fill.

Starling Bank Ltd. is weighing plans for a fresh funding round that could value the U.K. challenger at around 2.5 billion pounds ($3.4 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.

Taavet Hinrikus turned his startup into the one of the world’s biggest digital-payment firms, giving returns of about 35,000% to early investors including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.

The U.K. financial technology startup GoCardless raised $312 million in new funding to speed up its expansion in open banking across products and geogrophies.

Esusu, a financial technology company that aims to help bridge the racial wealth gap by reporting rent payments to credit agencies, has become one of only a few Black-owned startups to reach a valuation of $1 billion after closing a Series B round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

The French bank and New York asset management firm will buy and hold inventory to meet clients’ future needs and track materials on a new software platform.

Home valuation professionals have had mixed feelings about automation out of concern that some forms could result in less accurate assessments.

The Rhode Island bank estimated that its revised overdraft practices will cost $40 million each year, but it noted that complaints to call centers are down 40% since the policy change.

Valuations for payment technology companies skyrocketed over the past year, pushed by a wave of public listings and record venture capital investments. Some potential acquirers are waiting for prices to cool.

Mizuho Financial Group, the large Japanese bank, has agreed to buy U.S.-based Capstone Partners to expand in the business of helping private equity firms raise funds.

The government-sponsored enterprise also unveiled two new tranche slices for investors to purchase.

Average per-loan charges last year were little changed despite the addition of a new temporary fee for refinancing. Those for loan-to-value ratios above 80%, home-purchase financing and adjustable-rate mortgages only rose slightly.

The Alabama bank is buying Clearsight Advisors to add to its booming capital markets division.