Investment Platform Mintos Seeks ECB License
Mintos, a European multi-asset investment platform, has initiated the process to pursue a banking license from the European Central Bank (ECB). The company stated that obtaining the license would strengthen its services and is a major step in its long-term strategy.
- A full banking license would allow Mintos to increase its deposit protection from the current €20,000 under the investor compensation scheme to €100,000. It would also provide access to stable, low-cost funding through customer deposits. - The company was founded in Riga, Latvia, in 2014 by Martins Sulte and Martins Valters, initially launching as a peer-to-peer lending marketplace before evolving its business model. - Mintos currently operates under a European investment firm license obtained in August 2021, which allows it to offer regulated financial instruments and is supervised by Latvijas Banka, the central bank of Latvia. - As of late 2025, the platform manages approximately €776 million in assets for nearly 650,000 registered users, making it Europe's largest investment platform of its kind. - The company estimates the process to secure the banking license from the European Central Bank will take between 12 and 18 months. - Co-founder and CEO Martins Sulte's stated vision is to make investing in loans as common for retail investors as investing in traditional assets like stocks and ETFs. - To fund the pursuit of the banking license and the development of new products, Mintos raised €3.1 million in a 2024 crowdfunding campaign and secured a further €2 million in debt. - Beyond its core offering of loan-backed securities, the platform has expanded to include investments in bonds, ETFs, and real estate as part of its multi-asset strategy.
