Mikko Salovaara has quit Revolut. Salovaara, who was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has exited the digital bank after just two years in the leadership post, according to multiple reports.
While Salovaara has attributed his exit from the Fintech due to personal reasons, Revolut has hit a rough patch in recent months.
Revolut has been in pursuit of various regulatory authorizations in a growing number of jurisdictions. In the European Union, Revolut holds a full banking license – received in 2021. But in the UK, its home market, which is also its largest, Revolut has struggled to receive approval from regulators and thus continues to operate as a Neobank.
In March of 2023, BDO, the firm’s auditor, said it was unable to verify a significant portion of the firm’s revenue for 2021. Eventually, the auditor signed off on the accounts, but this stumble caught the eyes of regulators.
Last week, in an interview with the Sunday Times, Revolut co-founders CEO Nik Storonsky and CTO Vlad Yatsenko, hammered the UK ecosystem for its lack of support by the government, contrasting the UK to the US. Frequently, the UK is recognized as a top Fintech market, but the founders believe that opaque regulatory demands are undermining the UK’s attractiveness for innovative firms.
Storonsky stated:
“US tech champions are so supported by the government: all the lobbyists, politicians, governors, they always promote business, business, business and it is completely the opposite in the UK. We have experienced a slowing down. You never know what needs to be done here.”
Revolut, which boasts over 27 million accounts, has moved aggressively to add various financial services such as crypto, while expanding in multiple markets around the world.
In March, Revolut reported its first full year of profit, booking £26.3 million in net income for 2021, the period the auditors struggled with. Revolut said that revenue tripled from £220 million in 2022 to £636 million in 2021. It is not clear how Revolut is fairing in the current economic environment.