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Chime prices IPO at $27, above proposed range

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Debut could fetch potential valuation of $17.1 billion

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Performance seen as bellwether for other fintech IPOs

(Updates with indicated price in paragraphs 1-2)

By Manya Saini, Niket Nishant and Hannah Lang

June 12 (Reuters) -

Shares of Chime Financial ( CHYM ) were indicated to open

48% above their initial public offering price on Thursday,

giving the digital bank a potential fully-diluted valuation of

$17.1 billion.

The stock was indicated to open at $40, compared with

the IPO price of $27.

The hotly anticipated debut is being viewed as a bellwether

for other IPO candidates in the fintech industry, where

valuations have cooled from pandemic-era highs.

The company, along with some of its investors, sold 32

million shares to raise $864 million.

Chime was last valued at $25 billion after a funding round

in August 2021. The company counts Yuri Milner's DST Global and

investment firms General Atlantic and ICONIQ among its backers.

It has raised $2.65 billion from private investors since its

inception, according to PitchBook data.

"A strong debut could trigger a domino effect, prompting

other high-growth firms to accelerate their IPO timelines and

position themselves for a window that's starting to reopen,"

said Kat Liu, vice president at IPOX.

"If well-received, Chime could help reopen the IPO window

for other long-delayed unicorns."

Digital banks such as Chime have grown rapidly in recent

years by offering low-cost, mobile-first financial services that

appeal to younger users and underserved consumers.

With features such as no-fee accounts, early access to

direct deposits and user-friendly apps, they have positioned

themselves as accessible alternatives to traditional banks.

The fintech earns revenue primarily from interchange fees

collected when users swipe their debit cards.

"We're just scratching the surface on this enormous business

opportunity we have today," Chime CEO Chris Britt told Reuters

in an interview.

Britt noted that Chime only serves less than 5% of the 200

million Americans who earn $100,000 or less a year, a slice of

the market that the company has heavily targeted by spending

nearly $520 million in 2024 on marketing.

"Our goal is to be the number one market share company in

terms of primary accounts, recurring direct deposit accounts in

that segment, and we're not going to stop there," Britt said.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan were the lead

underwriters for Chime's IPO.

MARKET THAW DRAWS IPO HOPEFULS

Soaring interest rates and recession fears since the 2021

IPO boom have hit valuations and investor demand for new issues,

forcing many private companies to delay their IPO plans. But

some high-growth firms are cautiously testing the waters again.

Circle, the stablecoin issuer that went public last

week, has seen its stock gain fourfold from its IPO price. Space

tech firm Voyager's shares more than doubled on their

debut on Wednesday.

However, some analysts cautioned against excessive optimism,

warning that uncertainty around trade negotiations by President

Donald Trump's administration could weigh on the broader

recovery.

"While this is clearly a strong IPO window now, there is no

guarantee it will continue," said Samuel Kerr, head of equity

capital markets at Mergermarket.

"Investors and issuers have made use of the tariff pause to

do deals but there is still broad uncertainty."

Crypto exchange Gemini, buy-now-pay-later firm Klarna, AI

chipmaker Cerebras and medical supplies company Medline are

among the most closely watched names in the current IPO

pipeline.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Manya Saini in Bengaluru;

Editing by Anil D'Silva)