The latest Crowdfunding Monitor 2022 from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences provides detailed information on developments from crowdsupporting/crowddonation to crowdinvesting and crowdlending.
Market Development
In crowdfunding – the various forms of financing via the internet – the volume in Switzerland grew from CHF 606.6 million in the previous year to CHF 791.8 million in 2021, an increase of +31%. After a Corona-related slump, strong growth is now being recorded again.
Since the founding of the first crowdlending platform Cashare 14 years ago, around three billion Swiss francs have been intermediated digitally in Switzerland.
Crowdlending Growth
The crowdlending sector recorded the strongest growth from 2020 to 2021 (+35%, to CHF 607.0 million). With the end of the Corona crisis, growth in corporate and private loans has also returned.
Real estate crowdlending grew by a high 40.9 percent to CHF 418.0 million in 2021. An important driver here was primarily loans to companies in the real estate business.
Use of Funds
There are major differences in the intended use of loans: - Business Crowdlending: Project financing, debt restructuring or short-term loans for liquidity management - Consumer Crowdlending: Loans for debt restructuring, education, cars, travel or weddings - Real Estate Crowdlending: Mortgages to private individuals and bridge financing for property developers
Future Potential
Although crowdlending financing is growing strongly year after year, the volume is still modest compared to banks. The volume of consumer loans through crowdlending is only 2% of the total consumer credit market in Switzerland. Put positively, crowdlending still has enormous potential to continue increasing its market share at the expense of banks in the coming years.
Your finance expert Michael Boge
