Nu Colombia, Nubank’s (NYSE: NU) subsidiary in the country, announces that Catalina Breton, who has served as General Manager for the past 4 years, will be “stepping down from her role in the upcoming weeks to focus on personal projects.”
Breton will be working “with the team in the transition in the coming weeks while the company conducts a market and internal search for the position.”
Cristina Junqueira, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Nubank, who “oversees the operations in the three countries the company operates, will continue to be involved with Nu Colombia local team operations.”
Cristina Junqueira stated:
“We are incredibly grateful to Catalina for her fundamental role in launching the local operation and positioning Nu at the top of the sector in less than 2 years. Investing in Colombia is a global priority for Nubank, and we continue to be deeply committed to our growth plan in the country with ambitious plans to expand our product portfolio in 2023.”
Nu Colombia has “reached 439,000 customers as of September 2022, a figure almost five times higher than the previous year, with very high satisfaction standards and a local team of more than 400 people.”
Catalina Breton added:
“Joining Nu Colombia when it was just an idea and helping build it to a thriving and influential player is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. After some weeks in transition with the team, I will be taking some time to focus on personal projects. And I will always be cheering Nubank ahead with enormous confidence of the great achievements coming soon in Colombia.”
As reported recently, Nubank grew its customer base in Brazil “to 70MM as of December 2022, reinforcing its positioning as fifth largest financial institution in the country by number of customers, starting 2023 with a strong base for efficient expansion.”
Globally, the company has “reached the milestone of 75 million customers.”
According to Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) data from the fourth quarter of 2022, Nubank has “added 19.1 million customers in 2022.”
Along with the highest net growth, Nu maintains “one of the lowest complaint rates of the 15 largest financial institutions in the country.”
Nubank’s model is “centered around customer satisfaction.”
According to a Bank of America research report, Nubank is leading “a consolidation in the local fintech sector, and has added more new customers in 2022 than the rest of fintechs combined.”
A research report by UBS, based on BCB data, also shows that Nubank is now “the country’s third largest lender, by number of customers with loans above R$ 200, as well as the top lender among fintechs.”
Their credit penetration (clients with loans over total clients) “is 53%, 38pp higher than that of the second-largest fintech.”
These results are in line “with the company’s roadmap for 2023, which has a strong focus on responsible credit (secured and unsecured) and lending in Brazil, with the planned launch of payroll deductible loans and investment-backed loans as examples.”
Going beyond its core market and main products (credit card and account), Nubank has been able to also “grow its portfolio, launching over 25 new products and features in 2022, resulting in strong cross-sell, beyond the acquisition of new customers. Nubank is now doubling down on its efforts in premium products.”
The company has also “been able to export its business model, unlocking big opportunities in Mexico and Colombia, with relevant funding announced to expand both operations and concrete steps to launch savings accounts in the countries, unlocking deposits in its financing structure abroad.”
International expansion is “also a priority for 2023, through a model that allows replicating our business model and products efficiently anywhere in the world – with adjustments to fit specific markets.”
While new countries are not part of the company’s immediate plans for expansion, the efficiency that “the platformization model brings can boost their existing markets, fostering fast growth at even lower costs.”