With some 28 million businesses operating in the small business sector as far back as 2010, it was only a matter of time before an entire industry was born to meet their lending needs. Naturally, as the effects of the recession slowed, more businesses saw their opportunity to finance ambitious business owners, and the result was a gold rush of sorts.
While this may have helped smaller business owners to reach their goals, it has led to increased competition among alternative lenders. In order to stand out, innovative lenders have had to adapt their offerings. But few have done so quite as effectively as Blackmoon, a company that has managed to integrate core European markets via a personalized digital platform.
We met with this fascinating team to discover what it is that sets them apart.
Where did the name originate?
The 'Blackmoon' name stemmed from the co-founders' view of the alternative lending market. The side of the market that we see and read about on a daily basis comprises traditional marketplace lending and P2P lending platforms. It is crowded by market participants all satisfying similar needs.
The Blackmoon value proposition lies in how we identify and serve the "other" side of the market - a far greater market of under-served balance sheet lenders who would thrive in a marketplace environment given the opportunity. Much like the dark side of the moon, this segment of the market did not have the appropriate solutions required to succeed. We provide that solution and bring what is hidden to the light.
What makes Blackmoon different from their competitors?
Blackmoon is the only participant in the market today that provides a data-driven, technology-based platform focused exclusively on balance sheet lenders. Having built a reputation for collaborating with originators and providing institutional investors access to an entirely new asset class, Blackmoon has become ever-present in the world of successful balance sheet lending.
By developing a fully-functioning unified platform that allows balance sheet lenders to easily implement the marketplace approach and leverage their existing lending infrastructure, Blackmoon has given the opportunity to access a unique and previously unavailable supply of loans from a diversified list of originators in order to meet their comprehensive investment strategies, enabling them to generate differentiated investment returns.
What does the future hold for Blackmoon?
Blackmoon will continue operations across Europe, but is focused on expanding its presence in the United States market. To meet the needs of American lenders, we will increase the number of originators integrated into our platform and significantly ramp up the loan volume available on said platform.
There is a massive opportunity to build a unified marketplace for consumer-oriented and SME loans originated by lenders worldwide. Our goal is to create capital integrity and transparency in a trillion-dollar plus lending market that is currently shackled by archaic, slow-moving lending, and loan distribution practices.
Why should lenders and/or investors consider Blackmoon?
Blackmoon offers a unique solution for both loan originators and investors.
For originators, Blackmoon provides access to professional, scalable sources of capital to grow origination volumes. By leveraging a hybrid model (some loans are held and others are distributed via a MPLaaS platform), balance sheet lenders can grow operations without adding additional leverage on their balance sheets, which can mitigate risk by locking in revenue at the moment of loan origination.
Blackmoon provides investors with access to an array of outstanding financial assets, meaning investors can implement comprehensive investment strategies that outperform returns associated with investing in traditional lending marketplaces.
How successful has Blackmoon been to date?
In just 12 months Blackmoon has become a recognized leader across Europe by successful integrating 9 mid-sized lenders across the region. This approach is built on our understanding that our assets are in demand - and our dedication to meeting that demand for ambitious lenders.
Our insightful team of data analysts managed to solve a mystery, allowing us to create a methodology of instantly pricing separate loans not just through our proprietary algorithm, but specifically for the purpose of acquiring the loans at scale.
Our web-based platform instantly evaluates origination and servicing fees based on historical and forecasted performance, a feature unique to our company. This approach has seen us grow turnover from €1 to millions - and that's just the beginning.
What markets are next for future expansion?
Once we have established ourselves in the United States, we will direct our attention to Spain as it is currently one of the largest markets for unsecured consumer lending in continental Europe. We have settled a dedicated team in Madrid and have already begun the integration process with key local lenders. We are also exploring opportunities in Latin American and Southeast Asia.
Thank you so much for sharing this information with our readers today, we cannot wait to see where the future takes you.