British Business Bank provides £100m loan guarantee to fintech
The British Business Bank has agreed to a £100m loan guarantee with Oxbury Bank, the fintech company dedicated to the agricultural sector.
This will be provided under the ENABLE Guarantee programme, which means the UK government assumes a portion of the risk, in exchange for a fee.
It is the first time the guarantee will provide protection to an existing portfolio of lending. The transaction will enable Oxbury to originate up to £45m of new lending to small and medium-sized agricultural businesses.
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Oxbury, launched in February 2021 as a fully regulated bank, has raised over £120m in investment, with further fundraising planned to support ongoing growth.
Since inception, the bank has exceeded £750m in total committed and in-progress lending and has attracted £1bn in savings deposits. It is aiming to have a £1bn balance sheet next year.
“As the UK’s only dedicated agriculture bank Oxbury is on a mission to help farmers and food producers address the twin challenges of food security and the transition to low-carbon nature-friendly production,” said Tim Coates, co-founder and chief customer officer at Oxbury.
“Our relationship-led approach, enabled by our proprietary Oxbury Earth Agtech banking platform, is essential in serving the needs of the small and medium business that are the lifeblood of this crucial part of the British economy.”
Reinald de Monchy, managing director, guarantee and wholesale solutions at the British Business Bank, added: “Allowing Oxbury to seed the transaction with existing lending allows them to provide additional lending to small businesses more quickly.”
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