Coinbase partner ClearBank posts first full-year of profit

ClearBank, a British financial technology firm powering payments for the likes of Coinbase, scored its first full year of profit after higher interest rates helped drive a 91% jump in revenues.

The firm swung to an £18.4 million ($23.3 million) pre-tax profit in the year ending Dec. 31, 2023, according to financial statements released Thursday. That’s up from a £7.1 million loss in 2022.

The bank first reached profitability on a monthly basis in November 2022. This is the first time it has reported profitability on an annual basis.

ClearBank’s first profit comes on the back of a near doubling of its total income. ClearBank saw overall revenue jump 91% year over year in 2023 to £111.3 million.

The firm benefited heavily from high interest rates, which have driven a spike in deposits as consumers and businesses look to gain more bang for their buck by storing cash in interest-bearing accounts.

Tide, one of ClearBank’s major customers in the U.K., has been offering a 4.33% interest rate for its business customers, with advertising across buses and London Underground trains promoting the punchy offer.

Charles McManus, ClearBank’s CEO, told CNBC that the firm was a clear beneficiary of higher rates — but was quick to stress ClearBank isn’t reliant on interest income and that transaction revenue has been growing healthily as well.

There was “no single driver” of ClearBank’s positive performance in 2023, McManus said, adding ClearBank benefited from a number of things, such as its clearing business for authorized electronic money firms and growth in the use of bank-to-bank payment services amid higher credit card fees.

“We’ve built the bank and the business model over a number of years,” McManus told CNBC in an interview. “You’re seeing flavors of it across our business lines.”

One key driver of deposit growth for ClearBank last year was the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a key bank used by fintech startups and venture capitalists. The U.K. ring-fenced division of Silicon Valley Bank, HSBC UK Bank, was bought by British banking giant HSBC for £1 and renamed HSBC Innovation Banking.

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