Raisin adds Italian challenger bank illimity to roster

The bank, formed in March, focuses on small business, corporate loans and mobile banking.

German savings marketplace Raisin has added Italian challenger bank illimity to its roster of more than 70 financial services firms across Europe.

The Italian retail and business bank now offers deposit accounts on Raisin’s German site, but plans to roll out its products across its partner's entire platform, which covers 175,000 customers in 31 European countries.   

Illimity, led by banker and former government economic minister Corrado Passera (pictured), launched on Italy’s Borsa Italiana’s MTA exchange in March.

The new bank is the result of a merger between SPAXS, a special purpose acquisition vehicle, and existing lender Banca Interprovinciale, after raising €600m from investors earlier in the year.

Illimity focuses on providing credit to small firms, buying corporate non-performing loans and mobile retail and business banking.

Berlin-based Raisin offers online savings and investments through 75 partnerships with banks across Europe, and has brokered €12bn on its platform since its launched in 2013.

Francesco Mele, illimity’s chief financial officer & head of central functions, said. “The partnership with Raisin will enable illimity to diversify its funding sources by means of a flexible and efficient tool.”

Raisin director of Open Banking Simone Viganò, added: "The partnership with illimity reinforces Raisin’s strategy, which on the one hand has the aim of breaking down the barriers that savers and banks face in Europe and on the other of offering more competitive investments to savers.”

In February, the German platform raised $114m from a cash call to fund international expansion and new product development. It raised the cash in a series D funding round from a number of existing investors, including US online payments giant PayPal and American private equity firms Index Ventures and Thrive Capital.