Southeast Asian SME growth financing platform Validus announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire CitiBusiness’ loan portfolio in Singapore.
The move is set to bolster Validus’ revenue, customer base, and expand its growing loan book.
Validus’ acquisition of the CitiBusiness loan portfolio comes on top of several strategic moves by Validus recently, including the acquisition of KlearCard, a business payments and expense management technology platform.
The company has also been expanding its team rapidly in Southeast Asia, with its team growing by over 25% in the past 6 months with majority coming in support of new technology and neobank initiatives.
Since its launch in 2015, Validus has disbursed over US$1 billion across more than 50,000 loans to small businesses in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
Vikas Nahata, Co-founder and Executive Chairman at Validus said,
“We are confident that there is value creation for the Citi customers who will be transferred to Validus. Through our digital platform, they will be able to access additional financing solutions to grow their business, financial services such as business accounts, cards and money transfers, and tools to manage their business finances in a smarter and more efficient way. We are excited to welcome Citi’s customers and we remain committed to delighting them with innovative products and excellent customer experiences.”
Roy Phua, Singapore Head of Mortgage & CitiBusiness at Citibank said,
“The sale of the Citibusiness loan portfolio in Singapore follows our previous announcement to wind down our small business banking unit after a strategic review. Our priority is to ensure a smooth transition of our customers and loans to Validus, who we believe can continue to serve them and meet their needs.”