dwpbank acquires Berlin-based fintech lemon.markets to expand digital brokerage services

The Deutsche WertpapierService Bank (dwpbank), has acquired Berlin-based fintech lemon.markets. By acquiring all shares of lemon.markets, dwpbank is expanding its full custody offering to include a neobrokerage solution.

The dwpbank Group will operate two brands in the future, combining long-standing securities expertise and stability with innovative strength. Established financial service providers and fintechs will benefit from a flexible service portfolio, enabling them to respond more quickly and with greater differentiation to market changes – and thus tap into new customer segments in the securities business and retain them long-term.

With this step, the dwpbank Group, consisting of dwpbank and its subsidiaries, is consistently pursuing its growth strategy: creating an ecosystem for modern, easily accessible, and highly available securities services that caters to a diverse financial world. With lemon.markets, the dwpbank Group is expanding its cloud-based technology stack, consisting of the powerful securities platform WP3 and the digital asset solution wpNex, with an infrastructure for lean, standardized, and digital brokerage and custody services.

Founded in 2020, lemon.markets offers banks, fintechs, and asset managers simple, digital access to the capital market. The platform can be quickly integrated into existing systems via an API. The infrastructure supports modern functions such as fractional trading, real-time processing, and fully digitalized processes for ETFs, stocks, and funds. The BaFin-licensed securities institution's clients include fintechs such as Tomorrow, Optio, and Holvi.

Kristina Lindenbaum, Board of Management, Customer and Digital Transformation, dwpbank: "With lemon.markets' technological expertise and innovative offering, we now offer banks, as well as fintechs and asset managers, the best of both worlds in the securities business – expertise and stability with innovative strength. Within the dwpbank Group, we are thus opening up growth opportunities for them, complementing our full custody offering, in a securities market increasingly dominated by neo-brokers and online brokers."

The dwpbank Group will operate on the market with a dual-brand strategy in the future: The two companies will remain visible as independent brands, but will work closely together and combine their respective strengths. The focus is on the joint development of their platforms, short innovation cycles, and a service portfolio that enables financial institutions and fintechs to respond quickly and flexibly to market changes. Thanks to the connectivity of both platforms and the joint development, client institutions and partners will benefit from an expanded and competitive range of services. This ranges from full custody to digital neobrokerage offerings, which they can dynamically combine within their customer base.

Max Linden, founder and CEO, lemon.markets: "Both companies share the mission of making investing in the capital markets more accessible – the best foundation for our collaboration. In addition to our technological leadership, we send a signal of strength to existing and future partners and customers. With accelerated time-to-market, a modular service offering, and a modern customer experience, we, together with dwpbank, are making financial service providers more competitive."

Through this strategic collaboration, both companies are helping to shape the dynamic securities market. With their securities services ecosystem, they demonstrate how customer focus, technological openness, and regulatory expertise, combined, can enable new standards in the securities business.

The lemon.markets management team will remain in place. The acquisition is subject to BaFin approval and the fulfillment of customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be completed by fall 2025.

www.dwpbank.de
www.lemon.markets

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