Buffett-backed Nubank grows faster than expected in Mexico

David Velez, Chief Executive Officer of Nubank, Latin America's largest fintech company, said in an interview that they are growing faster than expected in Mexico.

"We thought it would be difficult to achieve the growth in Mexico that we achieved in Brazil, and now we're seeing Mexican operations beating Brazilian metrics." In a year and a half, Nu Mexico has grown to 2.1 million customers, equivalent to 2.2% of the country's total adult population. In Brazil, Nubank reached 53.9 million customers after nine years, equivalent to 30% of the adult population. According to the CEO, Nubank became the largest new card issuer in Mexico in 18 months; in Brazil, the position was only achieved after five years. Velez added that competition in the financial sector is less in Mexico than in Brazil. According to a survey by the Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, almost 90% of Mexicans do not have access to credit cards. The fintech, backed by big investors such as Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) and Softbank (OTC:SFTBY) Group Corp, is looking to accelerate its growth in Mexico with a $650 million loan in April to expand its international operations. "There is a huge growth opportunity in the country," he said. Velez said the drop in Nubank shares was "disappointing" - the stock is down almost 60% this year. Velez said less interest for investment in tech companies has reduced competition for assets and could allow Nubank to buy startups. He added that fintech was involved in "several discussions" that could result in acquisitions in Latin America and the US. The Nubank CEO said he was not worried about defaults in its loan portfolio rising, saying defaults were kept "artificially low" during the pandemic. Velez added that Nubank has four times more deposits than loans and the risk is low. Nubank still has a large cash position, with $2.8 billion raised in its initial public offering.