N26 co-founder Valentin Stalf will step down as co-CEO and move to a role on the German digital bank’s supervisory board after a transition period, the company announced Tuesday.
That leaves Stalf’s fellow co-founder, Max Tayenthal, as N26’s sole CEO for the moment, though the digital bank’s chair, Marcus Mosen, may be appointed interim co-CEO soon, the Financial Times reported last week.
The executive shuffle comes as German financial watchdog BaFin last month proposed issuing a formal warning to two members of the bank’s management board and appointing a special monitor after finding new risk management weaknesses, according to the Financial Times.
The potential development arises little more than a year after BaFin lifted a cap it had put on N26’s growth. The nearly three-year cap cost the digital bank billions in lost valuation, including a shutdown of its U.S. operations in 2021.
Stalf’s shift comes amid reports that he and Tayenthal may waive special voting rights that give them veto power over certain decisions. Stalf and Tayenthal together hold a roughly 20% stake in the company.
U.K.-based fintech Wise, similarly, last month held its own referendum on investors who hold so-called “golden share” supervoting powers.
Stalf, in a statement Tuesday, called his move “a forward-looking decision to continue to best utilize my many years of experience and knowledge to strengthen N26.”
“I will actively and passionately contribute to N26's long-term leadership and strategic direction and will remain one of the largest N26 shareholders,” he said. “The new role also offers me the opportunity to devote more time to my family office and other entrepreneurial pursuits.”
Stalf told the Financial Times he had been thinking about leaving the company’s management “for some time” and expedited the transition after rumors of his potential departure last week. He added he expects to join the supervisory board after roughly six months.
Stalf further said he expected two more executives to join the management board “over the coming six to 12 months” but declined to detail potential future management changes.
A person familiar with discussions at N26 told the Financial Times that Tayenthal was likely to step down from his role at a later stage. The digital bank, however, said Tayenthal “remains fully committed to his role.”
Mosen, for his part, called Stalf “a pioneer in mobile banking.”
“I have tremendous respect for his entrepreneurial vision and achievements,” Mosen said in a Tuesday release. “Together with Max, he has turned N26 into an industry frontrunner and market-leading digital bank known across Europe. I look forward to continuing our cooperation."
N26 broke even last summer, it said, adding it delivered 40% revenue growth in its past financial year and annual revenues now exceeding €500 million.
The digital bank is preparing to introduce products for families, including a child's account, card and investment functionality; a new premium subscription with exclusive partners; and an all-new app design focused on holistic wealth management, it said.
On the risk management front, the company’s pending chief risk officer, Jochen Klöpper, is set to start in December.
