Salmon Group has raised a $100 million financing round. The funding will help fund the group’s quest to deliver contemporary, affordable digital banking services to Filipino consumers.
The funding structure reflects the presence of a complex level of capital, in the form of $60 million of equity funded by a $40 million issuance of a public bond tranche. The equity tranche was arranged by Spice Expeditions, with leading institutions, including the Washington University Investment Management Company (WUIMC), Moore Strategic Ventures, and FJ Labs, alongside existing investors.
Founded in 2022 by fintech veterans Pavel Fedorov, George Chesakov, and Raffy Montemayor, Salmon has quickly pivoted from a lending-focused startup to a full-stack digital banking powerhouse. The company secured its foothold in the regulated banking sector in 2024 through the acquisition of a controlling stake in the Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa (Laguna), which allowed it to offer a broader suite of services under a formal banking licence.
“This round is a powerful validation of the ‘always-on’ bank we are building for every Filipino,” said Pavel Fedorov, co-founder of Salmon Group. “In a market where traditional banking has often been out of reach for the average citizen, Salmon is filling the gap with a 99.9% uptime app and products that offer real value, like our 8% term deposit rates and industry-leading grace periods.”The $40 million bond component was issued under Salmon’s existing $150 million Nordic bond programme, priced at an effective yield of 13.7%. According to the company, the oversubscribed nature of the bond issuance reflects strong international confidence in Salmon’s credit quality and its disciplined approach to balance sheet growth despite a volatile global macroeconomic environment.
The Philippines remains one of the most attractive fintech hubs in the world, characterised by a young, tech-savvy population and a central bank (BSP) that has been proactive in fostering digital innovation. However, a significant portion of the population remains “underbanked”, often lacking access to credit or high-yield savings accounts.Salmon intends to use the new capital to do the following:
While legacy banks in the region have struggled to modernise their infrastructure, Salmon has built its platform from the ground up. Its flagship “Salmon App” currently boasts a 4.8-star rating on major app stores, a rarity in the utility-heavy financial services sector. By offering products like Salmon Credit, which features a grace period of up to 62 days, the company is directly challenging the high-interest, low-transparency models that have historically dominated the informal lending market.
With $100 million in fresh dry powder, Salmon is now well-positioned to transition from a fast-growing challenger to a dominant player in the Southeast Asian banking ecosystem. For the millions of Filipinos still waiting for their first bank account, the “Salmon” is swimming strongly against the current of traditional finance.
-VentureBurn