Square announced its industrial bank, Square Financial Services, has begun operations after completing the charter approval process with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions.
Square Financial Services is an independently governed subsidiary of Square, Inc. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, its primary purpose will be to offer business loan and deposit products, beginning with underwriting and originating business loans for Square Capital’s existing lending product. Moving forward, Square Financial Services will be the primary provider of financing for Square sellers across the U.S.
“Bringing banking capability in-house enables us to operate more nimbly, which will serve Square and our customers as we continue the work to create financial tools that serve the underserved,” said Amrita Ahuja, Square, Inc. Chief Financial Officer and Executive Chairwoman of the board of directors for Square Financial Services. “We thank the FDIC and Utah DFI for their partnership enabling us to reach this milestone, and look forward to continuing to expand access to financial services at this critical time for small businesses.”
Completing the Square Financial Services executive team are leaders who bring collective deep experience across banking, finance, and lending. Joining previously announced CEO Lewis Goodwin and CFO Brandon Soto are:
- Sharad Bhasker, Chief Risk Officer
- Samantha Ku, Chief Operating Officer
- Homam Maalouf, Chief Credit Officer
- David Grodsky, Chief Compliance Officer
- Jessica Jiang, Capital Markets and Investor Relations Lead
Opening Square Financial Services deepens Square’s unique ability to expand access to loans and banking tools to underserved populations. 58% of loans through Square Capital go to women-owned businesses, compared to 17% of traditional loans; and 35% of loans through Square Capital go to minority-owned businesses, compared to 27% of traditional loans.
Square Financial Services will continue to sell loans to third-party investors and limit balance sheet exposure. We do not expect the bank to have a material impact on Square’s consolidated balance sheet, total net revenue, gross profit, or Adjusted EBITDA in 2021.