Lendico, the online crowdlending marketplace which operates internationally, is moving into the corporate credit market in Switzerland. It is making this step in collaboration with PostFinance, which will be a joint venture partner in Lendico Schweiz AG.

The international online credit marketplace Lendico is continuing its expansion in Europe by founding Lendico Schweiz AG on 8 July 2016. From the last quarter of 2016 onwards, the company will facilitate crowdfunding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland. It is entering the market in close collaboration with PostFinance.

Together the partners would like to establish a new form of SME financing in Switzerland. The aim of the joint venture is to provide the numerous Swiss SMEs with a modern alternative to traditional bank financing. The two partners are contributing their complementary expertise in customer contact and the entire lending and repayment process to the joint venture.

A milestone in the expansion of an international credit marketplace

"With 110 years of experience in Swiss banking services and around three million customers, we can think of no better partner than PostFinance for our entry into the Swiss market. As part of the continued expansion of an international credit marketplace, this joint venture represents a significant step in our business development," says Dr Dominik Steinkühler, co-founder and managing director of Lendico.

From niche status to the mass market

Hansruedi Köng, CEO of PostFinance, is delighted to be able to join forces with Lendico, a partner which has established itself and enjoyed success internationally in a rapidly expanding industry. "Our vision for this cooperation is to take crowdlending in Switzerland from niche status to the mass market. The combination of Lendico's innovative capacity and our structures in Switzerland offers the best conditions for Lendico Schweiz AG to become a market leader in the future."

Diversification of income structure

PostFinance currently generates around two thirds of its income from the interest differential business. To guarantee its long-term profitability in the current market environment with low and in some cases negative interest rates, it is essential for PostFinance to diversify its income structure and to tap into new sources of revenue in which non-interest income can be generated. Launching a crowdlending platform promotes this diversification of income streams. At the same time, PostFinance will create access to corporate credit for its business customers. The financial service provider is not permitted to lend any credit itself.

Contact

Lendico: Jörg E. Jäger, Senior Consultant, jaeger@gfd-finanzkommunikation.de, +49 69 97 12 47 35
PostFinance: Johannes Möri, Media Spokesman, johannes.moeri@postfinance.ch, +41 79 354 08 39

Lendico

As a marketplace for private and corporate credit which operates internationally, Lendico brings borrowers and investors into direct contact. The company, founded in 2013 by Rocket Internet in Berlin, operates in eight countries worldwide, including the newly-launched venture in Switzerland. It was originally established purely as a credit marketplace for private individuals, but in 2015 it expanded its services to include corporate credit. In the past few years, Lendico has increasingly developed into an established alternative to bank financing and has already been dubbed the best credit marketplace several times.

PostFinance

PostFinance is one of Switzerland's leading financial institutions and, as the market leader in payment transactions, ensures a seamless daily flow of liquidity. Whether dealing with payments, savings, investments, retirement planning or financing, PostFinance meets its customers on their level, speaks their language and offers them straightforward products with attractive conditions. This makes it the ideal partner for everyone who wants to manage their own finances as easily as possible. PostFinance employs around 4,000 staff throughout Switzerland.

Crowdlending

Crowdlending is a digital alternative to conventional corporate credit. Investors and borrowers can find each other directly on the online marketplace. In general, the marketplace assumes the responsibility for verifying the borrower's creditworthiness, processing the loan and forwarding repayments to the investors. Increasingly, it is small and medium-sized enterprises which are making use of the opportunity to acquire credit from online marketplaces. Key factors in this are the speed of the lending process, customers' experience of the application process and independence from commercial banks in financing matters. Investors are increasing their use of credit marketplaces as an alternative investment option, in order to achieve sufficient returns despite the current low-interest environment.