Digital Lending Platform Auxmoney Secured €500M From Citi and Natix

Digital lending platform Auxmoney has secured €500m in funding for new lending.

The Düsseldorf-based firm, founded in 2007, provides a peer-to-peer lending marketplace, which it claims is the largest operating in Europe.

Auxmoney said the financing, provided by Citi and American French-based asset management company Natix, will be used to invest in consumer loans on its own platform.

Citi had already been lending to Auxmoney as of 2021, when investment managers from the company and Chenavari Investment Managers poured €250m into the digital lender.

Daniel Drummer, chief financial officer of Auxmoney, said the investment from the high-profile investors was a sign of "profound trust" in Auxmoney and of the appeal of digital lending as an asset class.

Chief executive of Auxmoney, Raffael Johnen, said the additional strategic partnerships will enable more people across the credit spectrum to borrow at competitive rates, and said they will help Auxmoney support financial inclusion.

Johen believes financial inclusion is set to be more important than ever in the "current macro environment".

Not inclusive of its latest funding, Crunchbase estimates Auxmoney has raised £3bn to date.

The past year has also seen Auxmoney make many additions to its senior leadership.

The company appointed former Unilever, Barclays, and Boston Consulting Group executive, Matthias von der Heyde, as its chief growth officer in February of this year.

The exec now has responsibility for brand and customer lifecycle in the newly created role.

The former CEO of Barclaycard Germany Carsten Höltkemeyer, also joined Auxmoney as its executive chairman in February 2021.