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A former top German central banker is set to lead the supervisory board of the country’s most valuable fintech N26 as part of a leadership reshuffle that aims to resolve a conflict between investors and founders.
Andreas Dombret, a one-time Bundesbank executive board member, “is to be nominated by the founders and several investors” as the new chair of N26’s supervisory board, the bank told the Financial Times, adding that it would convene “an extraordinary general meeting in the near future to formalise the proposal”.
The current board chair, Marcus Mosen, will become co-CEO alongside N26 founder Maximilian Tayenthal, according to people familiar with the details.
German financial regulator BaFin and the bank’s supervisory board had already approved Mosen’s move, the people added, confirming a previous report by the FT.
“Marcus Mosen has known the company since its founding and has the full trust of the investors. We are confident that as CEO he will be integral in helping to position N26 for long-term growth and lasting success,” said Colin Bryant of Coatue, an investor in N26.
The reshuffle follows months of tension between the company’s investors and its co-founders and current co-chief executives Valentin Stalf and Tayenthal, who together still own about a fifth of its equity.
N26, which was set up in 2013 as an online-only bank, has been in trouble in the past with BaFin over weak money laundering controls and risk management.
The regulator recently flagged new concerns and threatened further sanctions — it had previously imposed a cap on customer numbers and a special monitor — compounding a long-running dispute with other investors over the role of the founders.
Stalf and Tayenthal have been negotiating a deal under which they would relinquish their special veto rights on big strategic decisions, in exchange for cuts to the returns promised to investors in a 2021 fundraising. This fundraising valued N26 at €7.7bn and guaranteed the new investors a 25 per cent annualised rate of return.
The deal would involve Stalf moving from the co-CEO role to the supervisory board after a cooling-off period in return for a reduction in the guaranteed returns offered to the 2021 investors. It had not yet been concluded, the people familiar with the matter said.
Under the deal being negotiated, Tayenthal would also depart his management role by the end of December, they added.
Dombret could start his new position as soon as October, according to the people with knowledge of the details. They added that his appointment still had to be approved by BaFin but this was likely to be a formality because of Dombret’s experience as a Bundesbank executive board member between 2010 and 2018, where he oversaw banking supervision, financial stability and represented Germany in international bodies, including the European Central Bank.
Invitations for a meeting to decide on Dombret’s appointment are expected to be sent out next week.
A spokesperson for Dombret referred to N26 and Mosen for comment. N26 declined to comment on Mosen’s move and the negotiations between investors and founders. Mosen declined to comment.