PriyaPatelIn an effort to streamline operations and reduce costs, UK asset management firm Abrdn has announced plans to cut 500 jobs. The company is implementing a transformation program that aims to achieve an annual cost reduction of at least £150 million by the end of 2025. While Abrdn’s adviser and personal businesses performed well by 2023, its investments business, which manages around £367 billion in assets under management, struggled due to structural headwinds, geopolitical uncertainty, and high inflation.
Australian paytech EML Payments is winding down its Irish subsidiary, PFS Card Services Ireland Ltd. (PCSIL), due to its lack of commercial viability and sustainability. The subsidiary, which EML Payments acquired in 2019, would have incurred an AUD 20 million ($13.1 million) loss in FY24 if it had continued operating. Interpath Advisory has been appointed as provisional liquidator for PCSIL.
Italian banking software provider Objectway has acquired Nest Wealth, a digital wealth solutions provider based in Toronto, Canada. The acquisition includes ownership of Nest Wealth’s onboarding, account opening, and financial planning offerings, as well as its client portfolio. Objectway plans to leverage the acquisition to expand its wealth and investment management offerings in Canada and the US.
Employee financial wellness fintech Kashable has raised $25.6 million in a Series B funding round. The funding will be used to expand the company’s research and development technology team and improve its underwriting model to tap into a wider credit spectrum. Kashable offers low-cost loans to employees and has connected over 2.5 million employees to loans since its founding in 2013.
Synchrony, a Connecticut-based financial services firm, has appointed Pierre Habis as the new general manager and head of its consumer banking business. Habis will leverage his 35 years of experience in finance and consumer banking to grow the bank. He previously served as chief consumer banking and digital transformation officer at Santander and head of consumer banking for MUFG Union Bank.
