Varengold Bank Acquires 20% of the Sofia-based Platform Klear

The German company Varengold Bank acquires 20 % of Klear, a Sofia-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform. The bank will support the lending platform with a BGN 1.5 million financial package, which comprises of equity and debt funding. The proceeds from the package will be used to expand Klear’s operations across Bulgaria and SEE. 

This is Varengold Bank’s first investment in a P2P lending platform, based in the SEE region. The German bank opened its branch in Sofia in November 2018 with the mission to turn it into a major hub for its expansion in Southeast Europe.

Klear provides individuals with the opportunity to lend loans and generate a return on investment. Borrowers, on the other hand, are able to withdraw a loan easily at reasonable interest rates. The amount of the loans which active investors have granted through the lending platform so far is more than BGN 8 million.

Klear was founded with the mission to be fairer and more transparent in terms of interest rates and return on investment. It has been named The Best FinTech Startup in Bulgaria at the Central European Startup Awards for two consecutive years  – in 2017 and 2018.

Varengold is headquartered in Hamburg and has branch offices in London and Sofia. Varengold specialises in Marketplace & Transaction Banking, a sector which has been dynamically developing worldwide. 

Varengold is supporting FinTech-companies in Europe, mainly lending platforms enabling them to grow and gain relevance. 

Further information is available in the official statement on the website of the P2P platform.