Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, will acquire Lithuania's Saldo Bank, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Tuesday.

Payward will move into lending and card issuance through the acquisition, the report said. Payward is the first digital asset company to acquire a bank in Europe. Saldo Bank received a European Union (EU) banking licence in 2021 and offers personal and corporate loans and term deposit products. The size of the acquisition was not disclosed.

Arjun Sethi (아르준 세티), Payward's co-CEO, told the FT: "One of the most requested things from customers was products and services similar to what they get at other banks." He added: "We will build a system that bundles cash, crypto, tokenised stocks and credit into one." He said this would allow customers to borrow or lend money using assets as collateral without selling them.

Payward, founded in 2011, applied in May to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for approval to become a national trust bank.

Payward acquired derivatives exchange Bitnomial in April for $550 million and Asia-based stablecoin payments company Reap Technologies in May for $600 million.

The acquisition of Saldo Bank is expected to be completed in 2027 after regulatory approval.