E-Loan Europe Wednesday
snapped up a German bank and a French online lender in a move to strengthen
the foundation of its soon-to-launch regional operations.
Traditional banker Media Kreditbank and Aaccredit will lend the two company’s
respective customer bases and financial services to E-Loan Europe, in
preparation for E-Loan Europe’s official launch this spring. The company
will offer mortgage loans initially, then ramp up to a full range of
consumer loans by the end of the year.
The Aaccredit purchase also represents E-Loan’s (EELN)
first foray into the France’s financial services market.
“Media Kreditbank will be instrumental in providing E-LOAN Europe access to
the capital markets, which will enable the company to originate loans
directly to European consumers, providing lower financing costs and a
seamless customer experience,” said Mirko Siepmann, E-LOAN Europe’s chief executive officer.
“In addition to prominent penetration into the French online
consumer lending market, Aaccredit shares E-LOAN’s pro-consumer values and
comes with a team of loan consultants with a
reputation for providing excellent quality service.”
E-Loan Europe is a joint venture between E-Loan and @viso, which in turn is a venture
between Japan’s Softbank and European Net player Vivendi.
E-Loan Japan began offering car loans
in December, while its Australia, and
U.K. joint ventures launched earlier this
year. An E-Loan Germany is already
available, while the French version is expected to launch by the end of the
quarter.