Swiss private bank invests in Mbanq dollar note in Düsseldorf

Mbanq confirmed that a leading Swiss private bank made the inaugural investment in its newly launched institutional funding program by subscribing to a US dollar-denominated loan participation note admitted to trading on the Open Market (Freiverkehr) of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange.

The note carries ISIN DE000A4MGVH3 and was issued by Encore Issuances S.A. in respect of compartment 193. The program has an aggregate capacity of up to US$100 million and the company described this transaction as the first issuance under that program.

Mbanq said the proceeds are intended to support its lending activities, including its Earned Wage Access (EWA) product. EWA allows banks, credit unions, fintechs and employers to give workers access to wages they have earned before the scheduled payday.

Vlad Lounegov, Mbanq’s CEO, described the investment as “an important milestone” and added it “demonstrates confidence in our long-term strategy”.

Advisory, legal and operational roles on the transaction were handled by several firms. Barons Capital Partners SA acted as adviser, Addleshaw Goddard LLP served as legal counsel, Chartered Investment Germany GmbH is the servicer and calculation agent, Baader Bank AG is custodian and paying agent, and ICON Asset Management AG is the risk monitoring agent.

Founded in 2016, Mbanq has reported operating profits since 2019. The company supplies core banking technology and services including Banking-as-a-Service, Lending-as-a-Service, Compliance-as-a-Service, payments, card issuing and embedded finance infrastructure to banks, credit unions, fintechs and enterprise customers worldwide.

Mbanq stated the institutional funding program provides a scalable channel to finance loan portfolios and to support partner capacity as demand for EWA and other lending products grows.