FinTech Brex Applies For Bank Charter

San Francisco-based Brex, which makes financial management software for businesses, announced Friday (Feb. 19) it has filed to open an industrial bank in Utah, according to a press release.

Industrial banks are distinct from other forms of banks in the U.S. in that they don’t need to be owned by bank holding companies.

Brex’s bank, if approved, would be based in Draper, Utah, and would be called Brex Bank, according to the release

“As proposed, Brex Bank will expand upon Brex’s existing suite of financial products and business software, offering credit solutions and FDIC insured deposit products to [small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)],” the release stated.

SMBs have comprised a core market for Brex since the company’s inception, according to the release. Brex’s software combines payments processing with financial management functions.

Brex plans to install Bruce Wallace as CEO of Brex Bank, the release stated. Previously, he was chief operations officer, chief digital officer and head of global services at Silicon Valley Bank. The planned chief financial officer for the new bank is Jean Perschon, who held the same role at UBS Bank USA.

Brex said in the release it has raised more than $465 million in venture capital from Kleiner Perkins Growth, YC Continuity Fund, Greenoaks Capital, Ribbit Capital, IVP, DST Global, Peter Thiel and Max Levchin.

In March, Brex said it acquired three companies — Neji, Compose Labs and Landria. At the time, Brex listed the reasons is pursued each of the three acquisition targets.

Brex described Neji as “a San Francisco-based startup building blockchain and networking technologies for businesses [that] joined Brex to redouble its security, privacy and risk posture.””

Brex described Compose Labs as “a San Francisco-based startup that powers next-generation video experiences, including the popular educational platform CommonLounge.”

Brex described Landria as “a San Francisco-based startup that builds internal knowledge databases for companies [that] joined Brex to augment Brex’s core technology infrastructure.”