Salmon Group, a digital banking and lending platform in the Philippines, has secured $140 million in new financing. Of that, $90 million comes from existing investors and $50 million from bond proceeds. The money will fund growth in its credit line and in-store lending, plus new products such as motorcycle and small business loans. The group operates through a licensed bank and a financing company, and its app has 9 million downloads.

What it means: Salmon illustrates a model gaining ground in emerging markets: a digital app, its own banking licence and automated credit scoring for people with thin credit histories. The mix of equity and bonds suggests investors now prefer companies with profitable lending over growth at any cost. Focusing on a single country instead of expanding across several markets at once also reflects more cautious times for fintech. For the Greek ecosystem the news has no direct impact, but it offers a useful comparison. In Greece, digital credit for consumers and small firms grows mainly through the systemic banks and a few BNPL providers, while the use of alternative data for scoring is limited by strict rules. The revised EU Consumer Credit Directive, due to apply from 2026, sets tighter requirements for creditworthiness assessment and automated decisions. A model like Salmon's would therefore need substantial adaptation to operate in the EU, especially on algorithmic transparency.

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