Smartphone bank N26 continues to prepare for an IPO.
Of course, that's not realistic at the moment, but it would be just as irresponsible from a business perspective not to be available just in case.
The newly formed supervisory board has the right people, at least on paper, to focus even more on regulation.
But before that, N26 has to do its homework first.
The smartphone bank is still in the sights of the financial regulator Bafin.
That's why there are still growth restrictions for N26, it is limited to 50,000 new customers per month.
Although the Berlin company is still one of the most valuable fintechs in Europe with a valuation of around 7.8 billion euros, the gap to the competition is growing as a result.
British competitor Revolut, for example, is valued at $33 billion.
In addition, 10 years after its foundation, N26 must now slowly make its way to profitability.
The fact that earnings grew by 50 percent is good news.
However, that growth was eaten up by high marketing spend, so losses in 2021 have increased.
The marketing expenses must now pay off at some point.
Once this homework has been done – and the market environment has improved – nothing stands in the way of an IPO.