Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) announced on Wednesday the appointment of Livia Chanes to oversee its Latin American operations, a strategic move that comes as Mexico's funding base gains greater weight within the group than its customer count. According to calculations from rounded first-quarter disclosures, Mexico now accounts for an estimated 14% of Nu's total deposits, compared to roughly 11% of its customer base. This gap underscores a pivotal shift for the digital bank, which is now focusing on monetizing its balance sheet rather than merely adding users.
Mexico's progress is noteworthy: Nu Mexico achieved break-even in the first quarter, where revenue covers costs, and recently received final approval to operate as a full-fledged bank. This license expands its ability to offer credit, payment, and savings products. For investors, the emphasis now shifts to returns from the balance sheet, not just customer growth. Nu shares closed Wednesday at $13.88, down 0.79%, about 27% below their 52-week high of $18.98. NYSE core trading had not begun at publication time.
Leadership Structure and Regional Focus
Chanes will retain her role as CEO of Nubank Brazil, the company's largest market. Mexico country manager Armando Herrera and Colombia country manager Marcela Torres will report to her while maintaining local operating autonomy. “Unifying the region under Livia’s leadership is a natural next step,” said founder and global CEO David Vélez. Chanes added, “This exchange accelerates innovation in every direction.” The new structure aims to facilitate faster transfer of products and operating lessons across borders.
Market Breakdown and Key Metrics
Brazil remains Nu's dominant market, accounting for about 85% of customers, with more than 115 million users. The company plans R$45 billion ($8.2 billion) in investment through 2026. Colombia, still in an earlier stage, has about 5 million customers and more than 11 trillion Colombian pesos in deposits, with $130 million planned for 2026. Mexico sits between these two, but its deposit share already surpasses its customer share, making it a critical test case for monetization.
Mexico's Balance-Sheet Strength
First-quarter data highlights Mexico's growing financial heft: with more than 15 million customers and over $5.9 billion in deposits, Mexico's deposits per customer stand at about $393, roughly 25% above the group average of $314. This suggests the unit has built a funding pool large enough that monetization becomes the primary challenge. However, these per-customer figures are estimates derived from rounded disclosures and do not account for product mix, deposit pricing, or country economics.
Nu projects $4.2 billion of investment in Mexico through 2030. “Mexico is a key market for Nubank,” Vélez said when outlining the plan. The capital commitment raises the bar for loan growth and fee income, as investors expect returns from this stronger funding base.
Credit Quality and Risk Considerations
The regional push could erode returns if credit expands faster than loss absorption. In the first quarter, the share of group loans 15 to 90 days past due rose 0.89 percentage points to 5.0%, credit-loss allowances climbed 33% from the prior quarter to $1.79 billion, and the risk-adjusted net interest margin fell 1 percentage point to 9.5%. Nu attributed most early delinquencies to seasonality, with some coming from deliberate expansion into higher-risk borrowers.
Chanes’s investor test is therefore narrow: lift Mexico’s revenue per customer from a stronger funding base and prove that Brazil’s playbook can travel without giving back margin. At Nu’s present scale, customer growth alone will not settle the case.
