Brazilian digital banking leader Nubank files for US IPO

Earlier rumours suggested a valuation of around $55bn.

Two months after rumours began to swirl around a possible US IPO, Brazilian neobanking giant Nubank has filed its listing paperwork.

Currently, details of its F-1 filing are private, but the confirmed existence of the document means that a listing is coming, possibly even this year.

At its last funding round, co-led by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Nubank reached a valuation of $30bn—although reports around its IPO suggested the bank is now aiming for a price tag in excess of $55bn.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little longer to discover what Nubank’s price range for its IPO will be.

Nubank has seen phenomenal growth in Latin America where it’s reached 40m in just eight years across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, with plans to expand further across the region.

Operating in a region where half the population is unbanked and offering a free current account, debit card and credit card has given Nubank a huge opportunity for growth, which its team has clearly seized.

According to the bank’s figures, 20 per cent of Nubank’s customers have never had a credit card before and 80 per cent of its customer sign-ups come from unpaid referrals.

Nubank started in 2013 when David Vélez co-founded it with Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible in Brazil, before expanding the business to Mexico in March 2020.