“He told me: ‘The question I have is who will capitalize on this bear market to scoop up valuable technology or talent. In particular, I’m interested in whether banks can be opportunistic. Some of the large banks have already been active, and the others need to ask themselves whether they are serious about innovation and digital transformation. If they are, they can’t afford to miss this moment.’
Of course, he added, much will depend on the macro picture. ‘If we have a soft landing, and markets head back up, the true bargains may already have passed. And if we are in for a very hard landing, buyers are at risk of catching falling knives—especially in the credit sector,” Crane said. “Getting deals done in these markets is no sure thing. We’ve already seen a number of announced deals fail to close: UBS/Wealthfront, Bolt/Wyre, and now JPMC/Frank (more on that later). Ultimately, the big challenge will be whether buyers and sellers can cross the massive valuation chasm created by the bursting of the fintech bubble.’”