ABN AMRO provides financing to TradeRiver

ABN AMRO Commercial Finance, the commercial lending arm of Dutch-based bank ABN AMRO, is providing a £25 million credit facility to UK-based alternative lender TradeRiver.

The £25 million provided by ABN AMRO includes the possibility of TradeRiver utilising an accordion feature, an announcement from the UK-based company noted. Exact terms of the financing could not be determined by time of publication.

TradeRiver is an alternative direct lending platform. It targets small- and medium-sized business, offering alternative financing to banks and other financial institutions. The firm offers UK-based businesses unsecured revolving credit facilities to fund business activities such as the purchasing of goods and services.

Fintech companies, like TradeRiver, have been a topic for discussion within the private debt space in recent times. The start of this year saw the UK government throw its support behind the sector. The British Business Bank provided £40 million in financing to Funding Circle, a similar lending platform to TradeRiver.

The sector, however, has not been immune from criticism. For example, Lord Adair Turner, former head of the Financial Services Authority expressed concerns over the peer-to-peer lending sector, a key part of the fintech space, last year.

The Financial Conduct Authority has also recently said it is planning to tighten up the regulatory requirements surrounding the crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending space.

A spokeswoman for ABN AMRO and a spokesman for TradeRiver did not return calls seeking additional comment by time of publication.