Contxto – Smart Lending is Mexico’s premier mortgage lender using financial technology to its competitive advantage. DILA Capital recently invested an undisclosed amount into the startup, the first to offer 100 percent online mortgages in the nation.
Jaguar Ventures and other angel investors joined Mexico’s leading entrepreneurial capital fund for early-stage startups.
In Summary
Founded by Bernardo Silva, Daniel Braatz and Andrés Avalos, Smart Lending supports clients in obtaining advantageous mortgage loans and credits. Compared to traditional banks, the process is exponentially faster, less complicated and more transparent.
Since its 2017 founding, it has secured around US$80 million in capital and debt. While banks require days or even weeks to approve credits and loans, this fintech can do it in 12 hours.
“Daniel and I are active participants in the Mexican mortgage industry through different vehicles and funds,” said Bernardo Silva, CEO of Smart Lending. “As such, we are highly familiar with the slow, expensive and complex process of obtaining a mortgage in Mexico.”
The mortgage market has been dominated for a long time by five traditional banks that account for around 90 percent of the market, and digital innovation in the sector has been little.
Bernardo Silva, CEO of Smart Lending
With this new round of funding, the company continues its mission to democratize the homebuying process for Mexicans. Fixed rates range between 8.99 and 10.99 percent with loan liquidation lasting between 20 and 30 years.
In-Depth
“We are building Smart Lending with the objective of becoming the leading real estate financial intermediary in Mexico,” said Silva. “Bringing unprecedented ease of use, customization and transparency to real estate financing, prioritizing the customer experience, processes and omnichannel service.”
Part of Smart Lending’s mission is to remedy the drawn-out and often bureaucratic process of buying a home in Mexico. More often than not, people must travel back and forth from bank branches. As you can imagine, this involves copious amounts of time in the process.
Well, Smart Lending solves this pain-point with its digital solution for aspiring homeowners. Not only does it aid customers in meeting online banking needs but also promoting social mobility. With more digital mortgages may come higher numbers of homeownership and unprecedented social mobility as well as community development.
“Owning a home is an aspiration that for too long has been beyond the reach of many Mexicans and we are delighted to be able to make a positive social contribution in this area,” said Alejandro Diez Barroso, Managing Partner of DILA Capital.
Based on its convenience, the online mortgage platform is particularly feasible for medium to high-income millennials. This is a demographic Smart Lending seeks to attract.
During the first three months of operations, the company even granted 75 percent of its loans people under 35 years old. Average loans go for around 2.5 million pesos.
A loan worth 2.5 million pesos is equivalent to acquiring a 2.8 million peso property with a 10 percent down payment, according to one report. Therefore, this equates to 23,000 pesos a month over a period of 30 years with a monthly income of 60,000 pesos.
-JA
