Crowdlending: lending rates for Coup de pouce, Proxi and Winwin loans lowered
On the strength of this good news, Look&Fin aims to finance at least 200 SMEs in 200 SMEs in 2022
Brussels, 24 March 2022. While bank lending rates for businesses continue to rise, the rates for regional loans available through the rates for regional loans available through crowdlending platforms have been lowered. This has reinforced the attractiveness of the attractiveness of crowdlending for our SMEs and allows us to aim for strong growth for the platforms.
Lower rates
After having been launched at rates of 0.875% to 1.75% at the beginning of the Covid crisis, the rates Winwin, Coup de pouce and Proxi loans now fluctuate between 0.75% and 1.50%, a decrease of 1.50%, a decrease of 14%. This is good news for SMEs that want to finance themselves with savings from individuals in their region.
"This reduction in rates is taking place in a context where the return of inflation has been noted for several months and where the banks are for several months and where banks are automatically raising their rates and tightening their conditions for access to credit. Crowdfunding has thus never been so competitive for all SMEs in our country," says Frédéric Lévy Morelle, founder and CEO of the platform Look&Fin.
Ambitions revised upwards for 2022
The 3 regional SME schemes have already been very successful in 2021 in their first year of operation. Their first year of existence of their eligibility via crowdlending. With very competitive lending rates already on the credit market, Look&Fin has granted, last year 5 million in loans via these schemes alone for around 30 selected SMEs.
From now on, with this lowering of the loan rate ceilings, this competitiveness will be strengthened and will make it possible to meet the needs of SMEs: financing external growth, digitalisation or working capital.
"Unfortunately, many SMEs are still unaware that these regional schemes, which are alternatives to banks, are available to them and that these offer them particularly attractive loan rates! We are therefore going to step up our actions to make them better known, in partnership with the regions and our partners in the field. We plan to grant 100 million euros in 2022 to 200 SMEs. We aim to ensure that at least one third of them will be able to benefit from these regional schemes, which are now even more attractive to our companies," says Frédéric Lévy Morelle, CEO of Look&Fin.
SME's enthusiasm for Fintech services
After the health crisis, a number of Belgian SMEs are keen to reinvent themselves and to return to growth, but they are still too often confronted with problems of financing. Many of these same SMEs therefore want to reorganise their financing by calling on Fintechs that offer more flexibility in credit requests, that respond more quickly to their requests while proposing a competitive offer in terms of rates. Thus, 40% of SMEs would be ready to leave their bank according to a new study conducted by EY among more than 300 Belgian SMEs. In Belgium, 22% of SMEs have already used services offered by Fintechs. As a first result of the lowering of borrowing rates and the attractiveness of fintech products, Look & Fin products, Look & Fin has already attracted some thirty SMEs in 2022 for almost 20 million in financing granted - 17% of which benefited from one of the regional schemes.
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About Look&Fin:
Founded in 2012, Look&Fin is a leading European crowdfunding (SME lending) platform in Belgium. Look & Fin - approved by the FSMA as a PFA (Alternative Financing Platform) - allows SMEs and real estate professionals looking for funds to borrow directly from private investors. The lender thus invests his savings in the real economy in a useful and profitable way. Efficient and fast, crowdlending allows companies to borrow up to €5 million while offering them leverage with banks to obtain additional funds. Since Look&Fin has structured €150 million in loans, financing over 450 SMEs. Nearly €80 million has already been repaid to lenders. In 2022 its founder, Frédéric Lévy Morelle was awarded at the Lobby Awards in the category of Economic Leadership.
www.lookandfin.com
Press contacts: Marie-Agnès Gastineau - +33 6 64 62 75 78 - mag@lookandfin.com
Maxime Housiaux - +32 478 48 52 99 - mh@lookandfin.com
