Ashurst represents Citibank on USD 100 million securitisation transaction for Validus

In Asia, receivables especially those relating loans to SMEs originated on digital lending platforms are fast becoming a popular form of asset backed lending / securitised assets. SMEs make up more than 96% of all Asian businesses but face challenges getting access to finance. Securitization plays a significant role in allowing digital lending platforms to raise capital to address this unmet need.

According to the e-Conomy Southeast Asia Report 2021 – an annual report produced by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, the usage of digital financial services is witnessing strong growth in Southeast Asia (SEA). A trend mostly driven by digital payments and digital lending adoption. It is expected that continued shifts in consumer and merchant behaviour, matched with strong investor confidence, is ushering SEA into its "Digital Decade".

Headquartered in Singapore, Validus is ASEAN’s first SME-focused, full-suite financial services provider, with an offering that includes business account, corporate cards, payments and expense management. It uses alternative data and AI-driven data analytics to drive growth financing to the underserved SME sector via funds from individual and institutional investors. Validus’ proprietary algorithmic credit models and uniquely aggregated alternative underwriting data has driven reliable historical performance in origination, underwriting and collections. Since its launch in 2015, Validus has disbursed over US$1.6 billion across more than 65,000 loans to small businesses in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.

The transaction was led by Singapore partner Jean Woo, supported by partner Evan Lam, counsel Cara Stevens, associates Jake Sng, Jermaine Ng and Thines Pandiyan, and New York partner Margaret Sheehan.

Read more: Validus and Citi establish USD 100 million facility to drive SME financing