Founder of N26, Valentin Stalf, quietly steps away from the bank he revolutionized, known for his disruptive presence in the industry.

In a significant development, German digital bank N26 has announced changes in its leadership and plans for future growth.

Founder Valentin Stalf, who compared traditional banks to old cars back in a 2016 debate and claimed that N26 had outpaced them, is moving from the management board to the supervisory board. This change was announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Stalf's departure marks the exit of one of the most influential figures in German digital business from the operational side of the company. His move comes amidst trouble with the financial supervisory authority BaFin and plans by major investors to remove him.

The future of Marcus Mosen, the current chairman of the supervisory board, moving into the management board is still undecided, according to N26.

N26 initially largely did without traditional marketing, but later plastered many German city centers with posters. However, the company abandoned its expansion into the USA after less than a year and quickly gave up its attempt to establish itself in Brazil.

Despite facing challenges, N26 is currently making sustainable profits and is expected to finish the second half of the year in the black. The digital bank had its best quarter since its founding in a presentation in Berlin.

Despite these positive signs, Stalf admitted that the gap between N26 and its competitors has widened. He also acknowledged that N26 has not yet fully converted this advantage into numbers.

One point of differentiation remains the integration of various functions, according to Georg Hauer, former Germany CEO of N26 and now a consultant for digital companies.

In a bid to strengthen its risk management, N26 has appointed Jochen Klöpper as the new Chief Risk Officer. Klöpper will start on December 1, 2025.

The IPO initially discussed in 2022 was postponed to a later date in 2024. N26 raised around 800 million euros in its last funding round in late 2021, increasing its valuation to nine billion euros.

Due to problems with anti-money laundering measures, BaFin sent a special representative and restricted the growth of new customers for N26. However, the digital bank is planning to resume operations by the end of 2024.

The digital bank was profitable for the first time in its history at the end of 2024, but incurred a loss again in the overall year. Despite this setback, N26 remains optimistic about its future growth and leadership changes.

Founder of N26, Valentin Stalf, quietly steps away from the bank he revolutionized, known for his disruptive presence in the industry.