The difficulty of obtaining finance for the SME sector was under
the spotlight at a panel discussion at the International Bar
Association’s International Financial Law Conference in
Berlin, Germany, on 16 May 2019, co-chaired by Matheson Financial
Institutions Group partner Liam Flynn. The focus of the panel
was alternative lending, which was broadly interpreted to cover
lending by alternative finance providers, such as insurers and
pension funds, and lending by non-traditional means, such as
marketplace lending. Liam and fellow co-chair Giuseppe
Schiavello, founding partner of Schiavello & Co, Rome, put
together a panel representing various constituencies in the market,
including Josefin Lindstrand, recently nominated to the board of
Swedbank, Tom Parachini, of Funding Circle, Matteo Tarroni, of
Workinvoice, Yasushi Shiina, of the Financial Stability Board and
Rein van Helden, of Stibbe.
