N26 could make stock market debut in 2024 but is "not stressed" to go public

N26 co-founder Maximilian Tayenthal said the fintech could go public in 2024, but that the private markets have been "incredibly liquid" and said the company was in no hurry to list.

German neobank N26 could make its stock market debut in 2024, but is “not stressed” to go public “anytime soon”, its co-CEO has said.

“By the end of the year, N26 will be structurally IPO-ready,” Maximilian Tayenthal, co-founder and co-CEO of N26, told CNBC.

Tayenthal pinpointed 2024 as the year the Berlin-based lender might make its public debut, but his arguably conflicting statements mean the date is unlikely to be set in stone.

“We are not stressed to enter the public markets anytime soon," Tayenthal added. "The private markets have proven to be incredibility liquid.”

Tayehthal, who has promoted to the role of co-CEO last year alongside long-serving boss Valentin Stalf, spoke to CNBC at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.

The once high-flying Berlin-based lender, which was valued at $7.8bn in October last year, has pulled out of the US and UK market as it looks to focus on its core European market.

N26, which is backed by high-profile tech investor Peter Thiel, offers services including a free checking account through its app and wants to develop into a super-app, expanding its offering by moving into stock and crypto trading.

Last year, it applied for a Financial Holding licence as its “next step towards IPO-readiness”, a year in which it also completed a $900m funding round.

Global stock markets have endured a bumpy start to the year, and the IPO market tends to reflect investors’ appetite for risk. 

The prospect of higher interest rates and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added to market uncertainty.

But the co-founder of N26 said he was not perturbed by the rising interest rates.

“We are one of the companies that actually have a hedge on rising interest rates,” Tayenthal said. “N26 is a liquidity-generating machine.”