Exclusive-Nubank CEO considers moving domicile to Britain, expanding in US

By Elisa Martinuzzi and Brad Haynes

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Nu Holdings Ltd, the fintech that created Latin America's most valuable lender in Nubank, is considering moving its legal domicile to Britain ahead of a global expansion that may include the United States, its founder and CEO David Velez told Reuters.

"We are actively thinking what are some of the jurisdictions that make sense for us to consider, as we think about the next 10 years of global expansion," Velez said on Monday.

"We are considering the UK," he added, while cautioning that tax changes bring "uncertainty in terms of jurisdiction and where to operate," Velez said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.

If Nu Holdings goes ahead with moving its legal base to Britain, a move Bloomberg said the bank was considering in a report citing sources last November, it will be a significant coup for the country in the post-Brexit financial landscape.

Since Velez started Nubank's operations in Sao Paulo more than a decade ago, it has grown past 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, making it one of the world's largest digital challenger banks.

Velez said President Donald Trump's new U.S. administration, which has signalled a likely embrace of regulation for digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, should create a more favourable environment for Nubank to consider entering that market.

"With the U.S. getting on board, fintech and crypto are back," Velez said. "When an administration suddenly sees fintech as being good for consumers and more competition, that makes it more attractive."

Velez said that a streamlining of U.S. regulations could make the banking sector more interesting for new entrants.

"The U.S. has several regulatory agencies regulating the same thing. So if there is a simplification of the regulatory agencies, they could make a much more interesting environment for other players to come in," he added.

While Europe is a relevant market from a size perspective, Velez said it is not a priority for Nubank to launch services, given the regulatory and competitive environment. Instead, he said a potential European domicile could serve as a legal presence from which to manage the group and recruit talent.

Nubank, which is domiciled in the Cayman Islands, already has about 40 employees working from offices it opened in Berlin in 2017.

Asked about expanding internationally, Velez said Nubank's $150 million investment last month in Singapore-based digital bank Tyme Group, which has 15 million customers in South Africa and the Philippines, offered a window into new emerging markets.

"When you look at a lot of emerging markets, there are a lot of similarities with what we've seen in Brazil and Mexico," he said, adding there were no immediate plans for entering a new market, but he expected to make a move in the next 18 to 24 months.

(Reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi and Brad Haynes in Davos; Editing by Alexander Smith)