Philippine fintech Salmon Group raises $88 million for regional expansion
By Derco Rosal
Two-and-a-half-year-old Salmon Group Ltd, a Manila-based financial technology (fintech) firm, has raised $88 million to expand its efforts in delivering modern financial solutions and improving credit access across Southeast Asia.
The funding includes a $60 million drawdown from a three-year, $150 million Nordic bond deal, along with $28 million in new equity from top United States (US) institutional investors, Antler Elevate, and Salmon’s existing shareholders.
Salmon’s existing investors include the World Bank Group (WBG) member International Finance Corporation (IFC), Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ/Lunate, Northstar, Back in Black Capital, and Filipino investors.
The equity round was led by Spice Expeditions, LP (Spice), a venture capital firm specializing in global financial services.
“The bond transaction marks the first-ever Nordic bond issuance by a technology firm out of Southeast Asia,” Salmon said in a statement released on Tuesday, June 17.
It stated that the $88 million in combined funding makes the deal one of the largest recent investments in the Philippine fintech sector, positioning Salmon as a leading challenger bank in the Philippines.
Salmon co-founder Pavel Fedorov said the company aims to transform banking in the region, noting that traditional banks in the region—especially in the Philippines—have long delivered poor products, services, and customer experience.
Salmon is an emerging markets financial services firm operating a financing company and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)-regulated bank in the Philippines. It now operates in over 3,000 locations nationwide, and offers four consumer credit products including credit, installment, and cash Loans.
Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa Laguna, Salmon’s BSP-regulated bank, offers a deposit rate of 8.88 percent—the highest in the Philippines—by passing on the cost savings from its tech-driven model and minimal branch network to depositors.
Salmon aims to build the leading credit-focused, tech-driven bank in Southeast Asia, with the Philippines as its first market.