We’re delighted to announce we recently reached an agreement with Portuguese digital bank, BNI Europa that will see up to €50 million in additional funding made available to Irish SMEs across via Linked Finance.
This funding will be invested alongside the investments of our fantastic portfolio of retail lenders, allowing us to continue on our fantastic growth trajectory and deliver on our mission of providing fast and affordable funding to the Irish SME community.
This is great news for the Linked Finance platform and the Irish SMEs we support. The additional liquidity that this arrangement provides will mean we can support more businesses than ever before.
Here is the full announcement that was issued this week…
Dublin
21.6.2018
Linked Finance Secures €50m funding for Irish SMEs from Banco BNI Europa for next 2 years
Linked Finance, Ireland’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, has secured backing from Portugal’s fastest growing Digital bank, Banco BNI Europa, who will deploy up to €50m over a 2-year period, to lend to Irish SMEs.
Banco BNI Europa is a digital bank and alternative lending investor that has partnered with
alternative lending platforms across Europe since 2016. These include leading P2P lending platforms in Germany, Belgium and Finland.
As part of a wider strategy to identify the best P2P lending platforms in key European markets,
Banco BNI Europa will deploy its capital alongside Linked Finance’s existing lenders. Linked Finance, connects Irish SMEs who need loans with an online lending community of more than 19,000 users.
That community is made up predominantly of ordinary Irish people who wish to earn attractive returns lending to creditworthy local businesses. Banco BNI Europa, is one of a growing number of institutional investors who are recognizing the potential of FinTech operators like Linked Finance.
The agreement will further boost liquidity on Linked Finance, which has already provided more than 1,400 loans to Irish SMEs. The company has demonstrated an impressive growth trajectory since its establishment in 2013, lending over €59m to date while recording its strongest quarter in Q1 2018.
Commenting on the news, Niall Dorrian, Chief Executive Officer of Linked Finance, said:
“Banco BNI Europa decision to deploy capital on the Linked Finance platform is great news
for Irish SMEs. It is yet more evidence of how the world is changing and through technology
Linked Finance is making it easier for SME’s to borrow money. This arrangement with Banco
BNI Europa will allow us to immediately increase lending to local businesses, complementing
the funding available from our existing users; ordinary members of the Irish public, who will
continue to play a crucial role in helping us to fulfill our mission of providing fast and
affordable finance for Ireland’s SME sector.”
Pedro Coelho, Executive Chairman Banco BNI Europa, said:
“As a FinTech-driven bank, a partnership with Linked Finance is a natural fit for our business,
supporting our strategy of growth and diversification within our European portfolio. Over the
past years, we have successfully built a network of strategic partnerships with fast-moving
FinTech companies across Europe. Ireland is a market we have been keen to enter and, as the leading P2P lending platform here, Linked Finance is the obvious partner. We are very excited about the potential of this relationship.”
Linked Finance recently celebrated its 5th anniversary hitting the milestone of having lend over €59m to Irish SMEs since its launch in 2013. Notable companies that have raised funding with Linked Finance include Viking Splash Tours, The Rolling Donut, Big Red Cloud, Lolly & Cooks, Murphy’s Ice Cream, Iconic Offices and the Irish Fairy Door Company.
This agreement is yet another milestone in our mission to revolutionise the way lending works for Irish SMEs. We’re delighted to see that this story has received widespread coverage across the media. Here are just a few examples…
RTE.ie: ‘Linked Finance secures €50m funding from Banco BNI Europa’
Irishtimes.com: ‘Linked Finance deal with Banco BNI Europa adds €50m to platform’
Fora.ie: ‘A Portuguese digital bank has pumped €50m into Ireland’s largest crowd lender’
SiliconRepublic.com: ‘Linked Finance secures €50m in backing from Portuguese digital bank’
Newstalk Interview: ‘Breakfast Business with Vincent Wall’
If you would like to raise finance quickly and easily for your company, Linked Finance can provide business loans of up to €300,000.
About Banco BNI Europa:
Banco BNI Europa is an international reference as a ‘Challenger Bank’ based on its strategy of open architecture and differentiation. This positioning also allows Banco BNI Europa to stand out as the leader in the new Fintech generation of European banks and to continue with significant growth rates. In this context, Banco BNI Europa has also been specializing in the management of alternative solutions for raising funds and credit, having already established partnerships with several European Fintechs providing term deposits and credit products in several European jurisdictions, namely Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Austria, France, Belgium and Finland.
Those credit products include consumer credit, student loans, credit to SME’s, factoring and real estate bridge lending. Resulting from its modern digital platform and low-cost processes with innovative products, in 2018 Banco BNI Europa was awarded, in the Digital Banking category and based on Portuguese consumer surveys, “Escolha do Consumidor” e “Prémio Cinco Estrelas”.
Banco BNI Europa was also awarded in 2017 “Best Internet Bank in Portugal” by Global Business
Outlook, “Excellence in Growth for Retail Banking in Portugal” by Finance Digest, “Most Innovative
Bank in Portugal” by International Finance magazine, “Best Digital Bank in Portugal” by Global
Banking & Finance News magazine and “Bank of the Year in Portugal” by The European.
