Dozens of crowdlending platforms are attacking the Swiss market, but that number will dwindle, according to Florian Kuebler, who runs one of them. The Lend founder tells finews.tv that size matters.

Lend, a pioneer in the crowdlending scene in Switzerland, is scaling up its business, according to Florian Kuebler, the start-up's founder and CEO. «Our credit volume is growing by 80 percent annually, as is our revenue,» he said in an interview with finews.tv.

The platform, one of many to attack the traditional lending business of banks, is increasingly active in the market for second mortgages. Lend began in 2016 with private loans, expanding into loans for small- and mid-sized firms last year.

Investors Reality Check

Now 15-strong, Lend scrambled to bolster its expertise in taking on traditional finance by winning new backers. «We're in a phase where investors look at our numbers very carefully and want to know specifics about the quality of our loan book,» Kuebler said.

With $50 million in outstanding loans, Lend is a minnow in Switzerland. But smaller players like the start-up have the advantage of fewer balance sheet restrictions, and thus can offer more attractive lending terms.

Interest Rate Fillip

«Banks can't keep up», Kuebler said. A prolonged period of negative interest rates also raises the appeal of Lend, where investors can reap 2 to 2.5 percent interest.

Lend acquired competitor Lendico earlier this year, marking the start of consolidation in the fragmented crowdlending market. «Consolidation will keep going, because costs for acquiring new clients can run very high,» said Kuebler.

With Postfinance as its sourcing partner, Lend established direct access to new clients. Kuebler is convinced that of the roughly 12 crowdlending platforms in Switzerland, only several of the larger ones will survive.

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