October expands SME offering with new bank partnership
European peer-to-peer lending platform October has partnered with Italy’s Solution Bank to launch a new financing solution for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Businesses applying to October for financing will now have access to Solution Bank resources, and the bank will provide loans to SMEs alongside October’s institutional investors and private lenders.
This “significantly increases the financial resources available to Italian SMEs”, October said.
“October has always been recognised for its business model, its ambition to anticipate market trends thanks to its technology and a strong focus on the new and growing needs of businesses,” said Sergio Zocchi, chief executive of October Italy.
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“The partnership with Solution Bank allows us to make our instant financing solutions available to a growing number of Italian SMEs.
“This partnership is a further example of innovative synergy between a bank and a fintech operator, an aspect for which October is a leader in Europe.”
The agreement could lead to a sharing of financing operations between the two operators, an October spokesperson added. It will allow the P2P lender to expand access to credit for thousands of SMEs across Europe, while also allowing for greater risk diversification for both parties.
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“Our partnership with October will open up a new channel of access to customers, which will significantly strengthen our offer to businesses,” added Frank Fogiel, managing director of Solution Bank.
“This will allow Solution to continue on its valuable path of flanking and supporting the Italian entrepreneurial system, an aspect that has distinguished us in recent years and allowed us to emerge as a major partner in the market.”
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