{
  "id": 6616488,
  "title": "MFB acquisitions could leave fintechs with costly regulatory baggage—Sycamore founder",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/mfb-acquisitions-could-leave-fintechs-with-costly-regulatory-baggage",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-10T17:20:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Nairametrics",
    "slug": "nairametrics",
    "url": "https://nairametrics.com/2026/09/10/mfb-acquisitions-could-leave-fintechs-with-costly-regulatory-baggage-sycamore-founder/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Fintech companies eyeing deposit-taking through microfinance bank acquisitions must consider more than just the licence and commercial potential, warns Babatunde Akin-Moses, founder of Nigerian fintech Sycamore. In a recent interview with Nairametrics, Akin-Moses emphasized that acquiring a regulated institution entails inheriting its regulatory history, governance obligations, and operational processes. He stressed the importance of more rigorous due diligence when pursuing acquisitions in the regulated financial sector. Akin-Moses believes that regulation should be viewed as an integral part of the business, not something to address later. He urged potential buyers to involve regulators throughout the acquisition process. The comments come amidst heightened regulatory enforcement in Nigeria's microfinance banking sector. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been actively cracking down on regulatory non-compliance among MFBs. In January 2026, the CBN upgraded certain fintech and MFB licences to national status, provided they met stringent regulatory benchmarks. However, by July 2026, the regulator had already revoked the licences of 46 MFBs due to various regulatory and operational lapses. Despite the increasing regulatory scrutiny, Nigeria's fintech sector continues to attract significant investment. In the first half of 2026, Nigerian startups raised $184.7 million from 51 deals, with fintech startups accounting for $98.5 million from 21 deals. However, overall funding increased only slightly from $178.3 million in the first half of 2025, while the number of deals decreased from 63 to 51.",
  "summary": "Fintech companies looking to expand into deposit-taking through microfinance bank acquisitions need to look beyond the licence and commercial opportunity, as the transaction can also bring a history of regulatory, governance and operational obligations. The post MFB acquisitions could leave fintechs with costly regulatory baggage—Sycamore founder appeared first on Nairametrics .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}