One of the fifth largest Swiss banks, PostFinance, a subsidiary of Schweizerische Post which holds over 119 billion CHF on its balance sheet, today announced a joint venture (JV) with German-based Lendico Schweiz AG.

Lendico operates a global online credit marketplace, fueled by fintech, and its JV with PostFinance will provide crowdfunding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland, according to an official joint announcement.

 

Our vision for this cooperation is to take crowdlending in Switzerland from niche status to the mass market.

 

Corporate credit for SMEs

The synergy will commence during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016, and will bring Lendico into the corporate credit market in Switzerland via the access provided by PostFinance through its JV with the company.

Commenting in an official statement, Hansruedi Köng, CEO of PostFinance, said: “Our vision for this cooperation is to take crowdlending in Switzerland from niche status to the mass market.

Mr. Köng added: 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.”

Alternative finance

Lendico competes as an alternative to bank financing, and was founded in 2013 by Rocket Internet in Berlin, and expanded its services to eight countries globally after adding corporate credit services to its product line last year.

Lendico co-founder and Managing Director, Dr. Dominik Steinkühler, said in a statement regarding the deal: “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.”

Mr. Steinkühler added: “As part of the continued expansion of an international credit marketplace, this joint venture represents a significant step in our business development”