Digital Shapers 2020: For the fifth time, BILANZ, together with Handelszeitung and Le Temps, has chosen the 100 most important minds in Switzerland who are at the forefront of digitalisation.

The founder an VR president of Loanboox was also elected.

We congratulate Stefan Mühlemann! He is one of the important minds driving digitalisation forward. Mühlemann recently moved from CEO to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mühlemann says to the balance sheet:

“Managing people who manage other people is not one of my strengths”.

He sees himself more as a strategist and inventor. Even though he has stakes in 15 start-ups and is sometimes more involved in one or the other, most of his energy remains focused on Loanboox. Because he still has a lot of plans for the lending platform. The company is currently active in six countries. In the long term, it aims to become a global marketplace for debt capital. The expansion is to take place primarily through partnerships with banks and other financial institutions. If an acquisition presents itself, the company is not averse to it. At the same time, Mühlemann tries not to take off and to control the pace somewhat: “We are still a start-up and must not open up too many construction sites.

IFZ Talking Finance

The podcast was created by Thomas Birrer (lecturer and project manager) and Timo Heroth (senior researcher at the Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ) from the IFZ of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts to provide an insight into current financial topics. The main focus is on local and international topics related to Swiss finance. Among other things, they deal with the disruption caused by the digitalisation of the financial sector and the opportunities and challenges for Swiss companies.

Each episode features a guest expert to give us an insight into a particular area of expertise and allow you, the listener, to share in the expertise. In the third episode, Stefan Feller (Director Capital Markets) from Loanboox is our guest.

Stefan Feller: A green bond is a bond with a fixed interest rate, the proceeds of which are reserved for specific purposes. It requires a second opinion from a specialised agency.  The issuer sets a catalogue of criteria with international standards.

What are the challenges and advantages for issuers of green bonds? Is the green bond a hype or a clear financing trend? What is happening with regard to the digitalisation of the bond market?

You can hear the answers in the podcast.

Balance, by Erich Gerbl:
Things are going splendidly for the credit platform in the crisis. Apparently, growing concerns about tax cases are fuelling demand.

The demand for loans by public debtors shot up steeply during the Covid 19 crisis. This can be seen in the business of the loan platform Loanboox.

«In the lockdown, almost three times as many trades were made via the platform as in the previous year,»

says Stefan Mühlemann, founder and VRP of the Zurich-based start-up.

Loanboox as «Corona-Profiteur»

Mühlemann, who himself suffered from the virus, sees his company as a “Corona profiteer”. For the year as a whole, he conservatively expects Loanboox to increase its loan volume by 100 percent.

The reasons for the enormous demand for loans at the height of the crisis are manifold. One important one, according to Mühlemann, is the fear of declining tax revenues due to companies’ declining business. In addition, municipalities are moving ahead anti-cyclically with infrastructure projects to support the economy. Money is also cheap, especially for top borrowers, he said. “You can even continue to make money by borrowing money,” says Mühlemann.

Loanboox has been active for four years and has brokered loans worth 45 billion Swiss francs. The goal is to become a global marketplace for debt capital. The expansion is to take place primarily through partnerships with banks and other financial institutions.