Social lender issues over €100 million in loans to nearly 4,000 small entrepreneurs
Social lender Qredits issued more than 100 million euros in loans last year to nearly 4,000 small entrepreneurs, a 10 percent increase from the previous year, as banks and nonbank financiers described a complementary financing landscape for small and medium-sized businesses in the Netherlands.
Nearly half of Qredits’ loans, 48 percent, went to startups, a group that often cannot yet obtain bank financing, De Telegraaf reported. The average Qredits loan was slightly more than 25,000 euros. Growth was strongest in sectors including trade, construction, and business services. Women were involved in 38 percent of the loans issued.
Laurens de Vos, director of business banking at ING Netherlands, said the growing role of nonbank lenders does not mean banks have withdrawn from serving small businesses. “Banks are there for SMEs,” De Vos told De Telegraaf. He attributed that perception to the period after the financial crisis, when stricter laws and regulations and outdated IT systems made it harder to efficiently issue small loans. Since then, he said, ING has invested heavily in digitalization.
At ING, more than a quarter of business loans are now issued fully digitally, primarily for working capital and investments in business assets, De Vos said. Citing recent figures from De Nederlandsche Bank, he said that banks together finance more than 100 billion euros and provide 90 percent of SME financing in terms of value.
De Vos also advocated for a national credit register for business loans. Such a register, accessible to entrepreneurs, would allow lenders to view existing debts, he said. “It would prevent overcrediting and increase competition in the financing market,” De Vos said. “And more competition ultimately means better conditions and more choice for entrepreneurs. That is what it should be about.”
