The Swedish fintech lender DBT secures a USD 280 million facility

Swedish fintech lender DBT, which specializes in providing cash increases to European SMEs, has secured a NOK 3.1 billion ($280 million) debt facility to accelerate its lending.

The new “funding agreement” with leading UK bank NatWest and US investment firm Värde Partners means DBT will be able to continue to meet strong demand for loans among the continent’s small businesses. The Stockholm-based lender says demand has increased in light of the energy crisis, rising fuel prices and rising inflation – all of which have severely affected Europe’s SMEs.

Founded in 2017, DBT uses a proprietary credit intelligence technology platform to leverage real-time client data and enable tailored, scalable financing with faster turnaround times for borrowers. The platform has allowed it to lend more than NOK 2 billion ($180 million) over the past six years, with DBT data suggesting that SMEs receiving support through its loans grow on average seven times faster than those who don’t.

New facility allows DBT to “remove barriers for SMEs”

“This is a milestone funding arrangement that enables us to support even more SMEs to scale across Sweden,” says DBT CEO and founder Alexis Kopylov. “It comes at the best possible time, as the SMEs we support see an increased need for flexible but long-term strong funding in light of the current energy crisis, rising inflation and rising fuel prices.

“NatWest has been a great partner to work with and we are grateful for their continued strong support [a] lender. With this new transaction, we also welcome Värde Partners as a new partner. Both are well-known financial institutions that share our commitment to closing the SME finance gap.”

Olmo Montesanti, Co-Head of Private Financing Sales Europe for NatWest Markets NV, says: “Stable access to credit is essential for the success and growth of SMEs and their positive impact on the economy. Our support for DBT represents a further step towards our commitment to remove barriers for businesses and allow them to grow. DBT shares our commitment to serving the growing SME market and we are delighted to further support DBT’s ambitions and partner with them.”

And Aneek Mamik, Partner and Global Head of Financial Services at Värde Partners, continues: “We welcome the opportunity to establish this partnership to help fund DBT’s ambitions and further expand our supply of commercial finance capital in Europe. DBT has invested significantly in their platform and has developed differentiated SME loan underwriting capabilities. Fintech lenders like DBT are going through a period of extraordinary growth due to a secular shift in their favor. Borrowers, both commercial and consumer, are increasingly demanding more tailored forms of capital to finance growth and acquisitions. We believe this has created a significant asset-based lending opportunity for us that is set to grow significantly over the next five years.”