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Magyar25 Oct 2026
Kraken parent Payward agreed on October 14 to buy Saldo Finance Oy, owner of Lithuania's Saldo Bank, in a deal expected to close in 2027 if regulators approve. A CryptoSlate analysis shows that bank deposits, e-money balances and crypto in one app would sit under very different legal protections, and that Saldo's overdue loans more than doubled in 2025.
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Payward is buying a Lithuanian bank
Kraken’s parent company Payward agreed on October 14 to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish owner of Lithuania’s Saldo Bank. According to a detailed analysis by CryptoSlate, the deal is expected to close in 2027 if regulators approve it and would add deposit accounts, lending and payments to a group best known for crypto trading.
Payward has not yet announced a combined salary account. But the direction is clear: Kraken wants to hold a customer’s money before they buy Bitcoin and after they sell it.
Same app, three different protections
The key point for users is that balances shown side by side in euros could carry very different legal treatment:
- Eligible Saldo Bank deposits would fall under Lithuania’s statutory deposit guarantee, which generally covers up to €100,000 per depositor per bank. That cap applies to all eligible deposits combined, so €90,000 in savings plus €20,000 in another Saldo account would normally mean €100,000 covered out of €110,000.
- E-money balances with Payward Ireland Limited, Kraken’s existing EEA electronic-money institution, are safeguarded and kept apart from company funds, but they are not bank deposits and do not get the deposit guarantee. In an insolvency, getting them back depends on a return process that can involve delays and costs.
- Bitcoin and other crypto held in custody is a separate relationship again. No deposit scheme pays out if BTC falls in price, and sale proceeds only regain cash protections once they land as e-money or as a qualifying deposit.
CryptoSlate also notes that opting into cross margin in Kraken’s European Unified Wallet can expose eligible spot assets to derivatives losses, a trading risk that has nothing to do with deposit insurance.
What Payward is actually buying
Saldo Bank’s June 2026 report lists €196.9 million in assets, €169.4 million in retail deposits and a €129.5 million gross credit portfolio. Its audited 2025 accounts show the gross loan book grew 18.5% to €123.8 million, while loans at least 90 days overdue rose almost 118%, from €1.615 million to €3.514 million, taking their share of gross loans from about 1.55% to 2.84%.
In the period to June 30, €5.7 million of operating profit before impairments was outweighed by €6.25 million of credit-loss expense, for a net loss of €545,000. The bank reported a 19% capital adequacy ratio and a liquidity coverage ratio of 1,957.2%.
What it means for traders
- Know which entity holds your money: moving funds between products in one app can also move them between companies with different insolvency rules.
- Do not treat an exchange balance like a bank account: e-money safeguarding and crypto custody are not covered by the €100,000 guarantee.
- Compare before you park funds: our exchange comparison and testing method look at licensing and custody. Kraken is reviewed on its exchange page, while our top picks remain BingX and OKX.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice.
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