Following months of preparation, E-LOAN
Europe Tuesday rolled out new versions in Germany and France.
The two new sites will offer the same online mortgage services that E-Loan
(EELN)
produces in the United States and will eventually add all of the parent site’s loan
options.
E-Loan Europe intends to provide its online loan services throughout the
European continent, the company said in a statement. Chris Larsen, E-Loan’s
chief executive officer, said E-Loan products will be localized for
each country.
“Germany and France comprise almost 50 percent of the $2 trillion European
consumer debt market,” said Mirko Siepmann, CEO of E-LOAN Europe. “E-Loan
Europe’s early penetration into these key countries, combined with our
pro-consumer values and commitment to providing lower financing costs and a
seamless customer experience, are the foundation of building E-LOAN into the
first consumer lending brand recognized throughout continental Europe.”
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.
In its other international editions, E-Loan
Japan began offering car loans
in December, while its Australia, and
U.K. joint ventures launched earlier this
year.
“International expansion is an important part of E-Loan’s overall growth
strategy, which is why we’ve moved so swiftly to launch four countries
within the past four months,” said Larsen.
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.
E-Loan recently made a couple of preliminary moves in the two markets,
purchasing German traditional banker Media Kreditbank and France’s Aaccredit. The Aaccredit purchase also
represented E-Loan’s first foray into the France’s financial services
market, while Siepmann called the Media Kreditbank “instrumental” to
E-Loan’s efforts to tap into capital markets.