Atom will fund £300m in lending through Funding Circle platform
Funding Circle has partnered with Atom to lend £300m of the bank’s funding through its small business finance platform.
Atom’s funds will support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through both Funding Circle’s existing loan products and its recovery loan scheme (RLS) lending, after the platform was accredited to the scheme yesterday.
With £350m from Atom already lent through the Funding Circle platform, this latest commitment brings Atom’s total lending with Funding Circle to £650m.
Funding Circle said it will reach 4,000 UK small businesses with the new funding and will use its machine learning models, such as instant decision lending technology, for quick and cost effective lending.
Atom will lend through the platform alongside a wide range of investors, including banks, asset management companies, insurance companies, government-backed entities, individuals and funds.
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“We are excited that Atom Bank has strengthened its commitment to supporting small businesses through our technology platform,” said Lisa Jacobs, Europe managing director of Funding Circle.
“Alongside a wide range of investors, it’s great to see Funding Circle’s machine learning and distribution capabilities being leveraged as a key solution towards increasing the flow of funding to the real economy, powering the economic recovery.”
Both Funding Circle and Atom were accredited lenders under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) and have been approved for the RLS and open to loan applications under the scheme.
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“Ever since we started lending to UK SMEs in 2016 we have been committed to supporting business owners, most recently as a leading lender of broker-led secured loans via CBILS,” said Edward Twiddy, chief customer officer at Atom bank.
“We’re excited to be partnering with Funding Circle, leveraging their market-leading tech to continue our support for British Businesses.
“By the turn of this year we will have provided over £1bn of lending to UK SMEs alongside what is already £3bn of mortgage lending, making good on our promise to be the bank for those wanting to grow their own business and own their own home.”