British startup OakNorth has raised a $440 million funding round from SoftBank’s Vision Fund as well as the Clermont Group. The company is creating a digital bank and focuses on loans for small and medium enterprises and the technology behind those loans.
Today’s funding round is the biggest funding round in a European fintech company. OakNorth has raised $848 million in primary funding since its creation.
With this funding round, the company plans to double down on what it already does. The company can issue fast and flexible loans to businesses and property developers in the U.K. OakNorth uses big data and machine learning to assess the risks and monitor its portfolio. The company has lent more than $3.7 billion overall, and there hasn’t been a single default or late payment.
But that is just part of OakNorth’s business. The company also licenses its platform to other institutions. Banks leverage OakNorth Analytical Intelligence platform for their own loan books, from origination to credit analysis and portfolio monitoring. Multiple banks already use it in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
While OakNorth doesn’t provide a checking account, individuals and businesses can open various savings accounts with OakNorth. OakNorth manages 34,000 savings accounts.
The company plans to expand to the U.S. as well. OakNorth doesn’t want to open a bank in the U.S. Instead, the company will focus on partnerships with American banks and loan origination for those banks.