Banco BNI Europa to invest with CrossLend

BANCO BNI Europa has entered into a partnership with CrossLend, a European cross-border marketplace lending platform.

The Portuguese online bank said on Wednesday that it will invest into notes issued by CrossLend Securities, thereby expanding its investment into pan-European loan products.

CrossLend lets people invest in consumer loans from different European countries via the purchase of “borrower payment contingent notes”.

Pedro Pinto Coelho, chief executive of Banco BNI Europa, said using the CrossLend platform to diversify its portfolio in a standardised way has advantages over direct loan investments.

“With its tech-driven securitisation product, CrossLend supports our growth and diversification,” he added.

Read more: MarketInvoice seals £45m annual funding from Banco BNI

Oliver Schimek, chief executive of CrossLend, said the platform aims to act as a partner to banks looking to actively manage their balance sheet, while offering a broad selection of investable assets to investors.

Investors need to open a bank account with FinTech Group Bank in order to invest via CrossLend, although the platform is not currently registering new customers on its platform.

The deal is one of several fintech lending partnerships announced by BNI Europa over the past year. Last month, it agreed a funding deal with Funding Circle in Germany, with plans to extend the partnership to other countries where the peer-to-peer lender operates.

Read more: BNI Europa agrees funding deal with Portuguese lender Raize