By Elizabeth Howcroft and Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS (Reuters) -London-based financial technology company Revolut has hired Frederic Oudea, the former CEO of France’s Societe Generale, as chairman of its Western Europe hub in Paris, as it prepares to apply for a banking licence in the country.
The hire underscores Revolut’s aggressive expansion, as it enlists a heavyweight of France’s corporate establishment.
The former SocGen chief, who also chairs pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi, adds clout as the fast-growing challenger bank seeks to scale its services and credibility.
Revolut announced in May that it planned to invest 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) over the next three years expanding in France, opening a new office in Paris for its Western Europe operations.
Revolut is the biggest of a number of European financial services apps founded in the past decade, with more than 60 million customers around the world but no physical branches.
It is in the process of a share sale valuing the company at $75 billion, up from $45 billion in August 2024.
Revolut gained a banking licence with restrictions in Britain in 2024, after a three-year process, and expects to start operating as a UK bank this year. The company has a Lithuanian banking licence, which it can use as a passport into the European Union, enabling it to sell products in the bloc.
A spokesperson for Revolut previously told Reuters that having a second banking licence in the bloc would allow it to build closer relationships with regulators and offer services that are more tailored for its customers in France.
Revolut is also considering buying a U.S. lender to gain a licence in the United States, according to recent media reports.
A spokesperson declined to comment on the reports.
Oudea is not the first banking leader to move to a challenger bank. In August, German online bank N26 announced a former member of the Bundesbank executive board, Andreas Dombret, as the new chair of its supervisory board.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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