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Investment Banker·Payments

Georgi Balinov

Global Co-Head of FinTech Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley

New York, NY

GB
LinkedIn
Why they matter

As Morgan Stanley's global fintech IB co-head, Balinov controls deal flow and buyer relationships across payments and financial software M&A.

Background

Georgi Balinov is a Bulgarian-born investment banker who has spent more than two decades covering fintech and payments on Wall Street, holding senior roles at Merrill Lynch, Barclays, SVB Securities and Moelis & Company. In April 2026 he joined Morgan Stanley as Global Co-Head of FinTech Investment Banking, based in New York, working alongside co-heads Jigar Patel and Kaivan Shakib.

Notable deals

  • 2020
    Appointed Head of Global Technology Payments Banking at Barclays, leading origination, structuring and execution of fintech/payments M&A and capital raises
  • 2022
    Recruited by SVB Securities as Senior Managing Director to build out its fintech investment banking coverage alongside Henry Pinnell
  • 2023
    Joined Moelis & Company to grow its FinTech & Payments franchise as part of the firm's broader technology investment banking expansion
  • 2026
    Named Global Co-Head of FinTech Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley, joining Jigar Patel and Kaivan Shakib to lead the practice

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Bulgarian-born, NYU Stern-educated banker with 20+ years covering fintech/payments
  • Career path: Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Head of FinTech Americas) → Barclays (Head of Global Technology Payments Banking, 2020) → SVB Securities (Senior MD, 2022) → Moelis & Company (MD, FinTech & Payments, 2023) → Morgan Stanley (Global Co-Head of FinTech IB, 2026)
  • Notably never worked at UBS, unlike much of the Moelis tech team he joined under Jason Auerbach

Current Focus

  • Co-leads Morgan Stanley's global fintech investment banking group alongside Jigar Patel and Kaivan Shakib
  • Coverage spans payments, financial software, capital markets technology and data/analytics

What He Cares About

  • Deep, long-term issuer relationships over transactional coverage
  • Cross-border payments and infrastructure consolidation themes
  • Visible in the Bulgarian finance community (e.g., guest lectures at UNWE)

Recent Moves

  • Fourth firm move in six years (BofA → Barclays → SVB → Moelis → Morgan Stanley), reflecting the post-SVB-collapse reshuffling of fintech banking talent
  • Landed at Morgan Stanley just months ago (April 2026) — still building his book there

Sensitivities

  • Recent hire at Morgan Stanley; may be cautious about speaking on behalf of the platform before establishing himself internally
  • Prior client list (Visa, Blackhawk Network, bill.com, nCino, Evertec, Euronet) may include existing MS relationships — check for conflicts before a payments-sector pitch

Questions to Ask

  1. How is Morgan Stanley positioning its fintech coverage differently from the SVB/Moelis payments-banking playbook he built elsewhere?
  2. Which payments/merchant-acquiring subsegments does he see as most primed for consolidation over the next 12-18 months?
  3. Given his BofA-era client relationships, are there conflicts we should flag before approaching specific payments targets?

Outreach draft

Subject
Payments Sector Perspective From a Deal Team
Hi Georgi, Congratulations on the move to Morgan Stanley — exciting to see you leading fintech banking there. I'm reaching out from a private equity deal team focused on payments and merchant acquiring; we're mapping out consolidation opportunities in the space and would value your read on where the market is headed given your work across Merrill, Barclays, SVB and Moelis. Would you have 20 minutes in the next couple of weeks for a call? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Placeholder Name]

Linked companies

Sources