Revolut's CFO leaves the digital bank after two years, citing personal reasons

LONDON — Revolut's Chief Financial Officer Mikko Salovaara is leaving the digital bank after two years, citing personal reasons.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as Group CFO at Revolut and remain confident in the firm's future success," Salovaara said in a statement sent to CNBC via WhatsApp.

With a $33 billion valuation, Revolut is one of Europe's most valuable fintech companies. The firm offers no-fee current accounts, foreign exchange, stock and cryptocurrency trading, insurance, and travel bookings, among other services.

Revolut's CEO Nik Storonsky said: "I thank Mikko for his contribution and wish him well on his next steps."

A company spokesperson told CNBC Salovaara resigned and has not been fired. He said it would be inappropriate to divulge the personal reasons that have led to his departure.

The Revolut spokesperson said Salovaara's decision was unrelated to concerns flagged by auditor BDO about the company's financial accounts.

In March, BDO said that it was unable to independently verify three quarters of the £636 million ($795 million) of revenue reported by the company in its delayed 2021 accounts.

In its latest annual report, Revolut reported its first-ever full year of profitability, posting a pre-tax profit of £59.1 million on revenues of £636.2 million. In 2020, Revolut recorded a pre-tax loss of £205 million.

The company was late to producing its accounts to the U.K. company register, Companies House, in time for a Dec. 31 deadline. They were finally signed off by BDO, Revolut's auditors, in February.

A Revolut spokesperson said the company had a "strong finance" team in place and would announce an interim head to replace Salovaara in due course.

Revolut has long been pursuing a U.K. bank license. The company began its application for a banking license in 2021, and has complained of delays to the process with CEO Storonsky recently accusing regulators of slowing down its application.

In an interview with The Times published last week, Storonsky said that it is "hard to do business in the U.K.," adding that the company would never consider a listing in London.

"In the U.K. there are higher taxes to pay and an extremely bureaucratic regulator," Storonsky told The Times.

He and co-founder Vlad Yatesnko said that complex and unclear regulatory requirements had prevented them from competing globally and the UK had become a less attractive place for talented people since Brexit and the Covid pandemic, according to The Times.

Salovaara's decision to quit has raised questions about the company's path toward an eventual stock market listing. Revolut recently had its valuation cut around 46% by the asset manager Schroders, reflecting the grim investor mood surrounding the fintech market.