Nexo acquires stake in US chartered bank

cointelegraph.com:

Digital asset lending platform Nexo has purchased a stake in a holding company that owns a federally chartered bank in the United States — a move Nexo said will enhance its ability to serve retail and institutional clients. 

Nexo disclosed Tuesday that it had acquired a stake in Hulett Bancorp, a holding company that owns the federally chartered Summit National Bank, which is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The terms of Nexo’s acquisition and its ownership stake in Hulett Bancorp were not revealed.

The acquisition gives Nexo and its customers the ability to open bank accounts with Summit National Bank. U.S.-based retail and institutional clients of Nexo will also have access to asset-back loans, card products, and escrow and custodial solutions offered through Summit.

Founded in 1984, Summit National Bank was originally chartered in Wyoming as Hulett National Bank. The financial institution has four locations across Montana and Idaho.

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As part of the new business relationship, Nexo co-founder and managing partner Kalin Metodiev will serve on Summit National Bank’s board. Forrest Gilman, who chairs Summit’s board, said Nexo will help transform the bank “into a fully-fledged fintech bank.”

When asked about the process of acquiring an ownership stake in Hulett Bancorp, Tatiana Metodieva, Nexo's head of corporate finance and investments, told Cointelegraph that "the deal was nearly two years in the making," adding that her team "conducted talks with multiple other