FNG has learned that Swiss online neobank / neobroker FlowBank is no longer processing new customer applications and has stopped onboarding customers, following the Swiss financial regulator FINMA’s decision to open bankruptcy proceedings against FlowBank, a story FNG disclosed earlier today .

While the main FlowBank website (at flowbank.com) remains open, the “Open Account” page now has the following “Under Maintenance” message:

Under maintenance

In our efforts to continuously improve our platforms, we are under maintenance. FlowBank integration will not be available at this time. If you wish to open your account during this period, please contact Customer Support at support@flowbank.com or by phone on +41 (0) 22 888 61 00.

Thank you for your patience and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Charles Henri Sabet

FlowBank was founded in 2020 by CEO Charles-Henri Sabet, who previously ran London-based online broker London Capital Group Ltd (or “LCG”). Crypto investment firm CoinShares owns about 30% equity in FlowBank. While the company’s initial mandate was to focus on banking and investment activities, more recently the company has returned to its ‘LCG roots’ and mainly promotes online CFD trading, as clearly seen from its website homepage (see below).

In a statement this morning, Swiss regulator FINMA said FlowBank no longer has the minimum capital required for its business operations, amid fears the bank is over-indebted. Therefore, the company was placed into bankruptcy in order to protect depositors. FINMA’s initial calculations show that FlowBank’s “preferential deposits” can be fully repaid from the bank’s available funds.

It is not clear at this stage whether FlowBank’s bankruptcy will affect at all the activities of LCG, which is a subsidiary of FlowBank SA (based on the latest information available, in FlowBank’s 2021 Annual Report). London Capital Group Ltd is separately licensed by the UK’s FCA and appears to be in good standing, except that the company appears to be nearly six months late in submitting its 2022 financial accounts. The group also owns the London Capital Group (Cyprus) Ltd, whose CySEC license was withdrawn in 2021, and an offshore entity in the Bahamas, LCG Capital Markets Limited.

FlowBank’s (apparent) collapse marks Europe’s second promising newbroker to exit, following the sale late last year of Amsterdam-based BUX to ABN Amro for an undisclosed sum, following continued losses at BUX.

We will continue to follow this story as it develops.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *