Digital banking startup Chime has hired 10 new lawyers this year as industry watchers attempt to read the tea leaves on the company’s possible IPO plans.

Why should we care?
Chime, which is reportedly valued at $14.5B and has an estimated 12 million customers, is one of the most valuable U.S. fintechs. Speculation about possible IPO plans surfaced in March, when a report suggested that the company held preliminary talks with investment banks about plans to go public. At the time, it was reported that these plans could take shape at the end of 2021. The company’s legal hires this year include product counsel William Morrison and litigation and regulatory counsel Julie Breyer, who joined Chime earlier this year from delivery company Postmates, which was acquired by Uber last year. Others include product counsel Alexander Lutch, who was previously lead counsel for privacy and product at Facebook, and Apple Palarca, a former senior corporate counsel at DocuSign. Last September, Chime CEO Chris Britt said the company wanted to be ready for an IPO in 12 months. The company has been in the news in recent months after California’s financial services regulator ordered it to stop calling itself a bank in its marketing materials, and a recent report highlighted customer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over locked accounts and other issues.