BNP Paribas AM inks deal with Netherlands SME lender Fundion

The move will see the platform originate SME loans in the Netherlands with cash from BNP’s institutional investor clients.

BNP Paribas AM has continued its march into the SME lending market by entering into a strategic partnership with Dutch alternative lending platform Fundion.

The move demonstrates the continued expansion of its SME Alternative Financing capability in the Netherlands, together with its longstanding caple partnership.BNPP AM’s SME Alternative Financing platform sources loans through its origination partners which are distributed to institutional investors. 

Fundion is a fintech SME loan origination and servicing platform, offering access to the Dutch SME lending market, and founded in 2017 by CEO Art van Bruggen, It launched with support from fintech lending IT provider Topicus, and Credion, the Netherlands’ largest nationwide network of specialised SME debt advisors.

The partnership with Fundion provides BNPP AM with access to Credion’s network of more than 100 SME debt advisors, as well as enabling it to benefit from Fyndoo, Fundion’s IT platform. 

BNP first entered the  Netherlands in 2018 through its partnership with Anglo-Dutch lender Caple. It completed its first loan there in February 2019. The SME Alternative Financing platform focuses on senior, unsecured, fixed rate, amortising loans of between €500,000 and €5m. 

Stéphane Blanchoz, Head of SME Alternative Financing at BNPP AM, said "We selected Fundion as they offer easy access to the Dutch SME lending market through their association with Credion. Our partnership with them will allow us to build on our existing loan origination capabilities in the Netherlands and enable us to further diversify our SME loans offering for our institutional clients.

Art van Bruggen, CEO and Co-founder of Fundion, added: "By offering unsecured lending we go beyond traditional financiers, and together with their advisers and banks we can ensure that the ambitious growth plans of SME entrepreneurs can be financed.”