Today we bring news of expansion of our FinTech sector across Europe – all of this ahead of new loan offerings landing shortly on site, as previously highlighted here.
SMEs across Europe hungry for cash have a new digital bank to turn to in the form of Fibr, which launches this week.
Fibr, is the new trading name of the rebranded Amsterdam Trade Bank, founded in 1996. The bank has a somewhat unique strategy in terms of lending directly to SMEs as well as providing wholesale lines of credit to alternative lenders across Europe such as Creditshelf.
Its direct lending comes in the form of secured business loans and working capital loans. It has lent over €20m of loans to over 175 SMEs in the UK and Netherlands so far but has plans to scale this to €1bn.
It offers savers deposit accounts, currently only in Germany and the Netherlands, that funds loan origination as well as third party funding lines. It will open for UK savers in 2022.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, Fibr also offers a lending-as-a-service platform to other lenders.
Historical Performance And IFISA Process Guide
That figure is the result of over £24 million of loans facilitated on the site, as we bring individuals looking for a good return on capital together with carefully vetted small companies seeking funds for growth. Bear in mind that lenders’ capital is at risk. Read warnings on site before committing capital.
All loans on site are eligible to be held in a Money&Co. Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA), up to the annual ISA limit of £20,000. Such loans offer lenders tax-free income. Our offering is an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) that can hold the peer-to-peer (P2P) business loans that Money&Co. facilitates. For the purposes of this article, the terms ISA and IFISA are interchangeable.
So here’s our guide to the process:
The ISA allowance for 2020/21 is unchanged from last tax year at £20,000, allowing a married couple to put £40,000 into a tax-free environment. Over three years, an investment of this scale in two Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISAs would generate £8,400 of income completely free of tax. We’re assuming a 7 per cent return, net of charges and free of tax here.
Once you have made your initial commitment, you might then consider diversifying – buying a spread of loans. To do this, you can go into the “loans for sale” market. All loans bought in this market also qualify for IFISA tax benefits.