Revolut finance chief quits for ‘personal reasons’
The finance chief of Revolut has quit the firm for “personal reasons”, he announced today, adding to the woes of the company as it struggles to earn a UK banking licence.
In a statement, the London-based fintech firm’s chief financial officer, Mikko Salovaara, confirmed he would step back from his role after two years with the firm.
He is understood to have resigned from his position rather than been fired. He has now been placed on gardening leave for several months, City PM understands.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as group CFO at Revolut and remain confident in the firm’s future success,” he said in a statement.
Revolut’s founder and chief Nik Storonsky added: “I thank Mikko for his contribution and wish him well on his next steps”.
The departure adds to the troubles facing Revolut after a bruising few months in which it has faced a media storm over its accounts and further delays to its efforts to win a banking licence.
Revolut was due to file its accounts in September 2022 and missed an extended deadline of the end of the year before filing the accounts in early March.
However, auditor BDO warned it had been unable to independently verify some 75 per cent of its revenues due to quirks in its IT system. Revolut insisted that value of its revenues were not in question, however.
Revolut has also been beset by further delays to its efforts to win a banking licence.
The fintech firm, once Britain’s most valuable private company, applied for its full licence in 2021. Salovaara told City PM in March the firm’s banking licence was “imminent” but none has been forthcoming from the regulator.
Storonsky lashed out at the delays and sluggishness of the regulator in a recent interview, claiming they could scupper hopes of the firm listing and growing in the UK.
“You wait for emails or letters for months. This is not the business environment to operate in the modern world,” he told The Times.
Salovaara also adds to a list of senior executives who have quit the company in the past 18 months. City PM revealed last July that a slew of senior compliance and regulatory executives had left the firm, while its global head of compliance and regulatory affairs chief also quit last year.