Wiserfunding Debuts EU’s First Certified SMB Credit Rating

Wiserfunding has announced the launch of Europe’s first certified credit rating for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Created in partnership with modefinance, the service will allow SMBs to receive a specific credit rating that only larger, public firms have been able to use to show their creditworthiness to potential investors and lenders. More than 25 million SMBs across Europe will now have access to the same services enjoyed by publicly-listed firms.

“All too often, [SMBs] form the forgotten middle between corporate and consumer credit analysis, with large international banks not extending enough credit to them because they are riskier, more correlated with each other, and more difficult to assess than large corporates,” said Gabriele Sabato, co-founder and CEO of Wiserfunding, in a statement. “Yet the economic crisis and market turbulence that has characterized the last decade has verified the need for companies and financial institutions to develop adequate risk policies and faster, more reliable risk management and forecasting tools for businesses of all sizes. Our partnership with modefinance will democratize access to credit assessment methods usually reserved for large corporates, leveling the playing field for [SMBs] in the U.K.”

Wiserfunding’s and modefinance’s combined technology use qualitative and quantitative elements to provide a credit rating within hours. The rating scale includes 21 classes, from A1 (highest credit rating) to C3 (lowest credit rating), as well as an additional four classes reserved for non-compliant businesses or those going through bankruptcy procedures.

“Financial technology has opened up new opportunities for [SMBs], in particular through the expansion of financing methods and access to credit,” said Valentino Pediroda, CEO of modefinance. “With this new bond rating initiative aimed at European [SMBs], we are helping a sector that has suffered greatly in recent years while on the hunt for credit to support their growth.”