SERV-backed export financing: Capital increase of CHF 5 million for 50% of the shares

One product. One insurance policy. Zero balance sheet.

The company does one thing: it finances Swiss exports that banks consider too small or too complex.

Four types of loans. Buyer credits for foreign customers. Supplier credits for Swiss exporters. Working capital facilities. Limited-recourse and asset-based financing. From under CHF 1 million to CHF 30 million. Each loan is structured individually—the term, currency, and repayment schedule are tailored to the project, not to a bank form.

Insurance. Every loan is covered by the Swiss Export Risk Insurance (SERV). It bears 95% of the default risk. SERV’s loss ratio over the past ten years was 1.19%. The company’s residual risk: a maximum of 2.5% of the portfolio.

No impact on the bank’s balance sheet. Each loan is refinanced back-to-back through banking partners—same term, same currency. SERV provides a 100% guarantee to the refinancer. This eliminates interest rate, maturity, and currency risks. The company does not require a banking license, does not hold deposits, and does not tie up debt capital on its own balance sheet.

What it unlocks. Swiss SMEs gain access to large-scale projects in East Africa, West Africa, the South Caucasus, and Latin America—through international general contractors that use Swiss machinery and technology. Projects that banks overlook.

What it earns. Interest margin on each loan (1.1–2.5%, median 1.5%) plus upfront fees (0.8–2.5%). Revenue is generated in three areas: infrastructure loans, SME loans, and structuring fees.

The result: a loan portfolio insured by SERV that is expected to grow without dedicated staff and with a limited retention.

Switzerland’s top exporters. And their customers in markets that banks avoid.

The customers are two sides of the same transaction.

The exporters. Swiss industrial and technology companies with a global reputation: mechanical engineering, textile technology, medical technology, rolling stock, and energy technology. One-third of Switzerland’s export credit volume comes from mechanical engineering. These companies sell equipment worth millions—and lose orders if the buyer cannot secure financing. The current pipeline includes 21 projects with well-known Swiss exporters, with a total contract value of CHF 1.4 billion.

The buyers. Private industrial customers, project companies, and public sector clients in East Africa, West Africa, the South Caucasus, Latin America, and Turkey. Primarily private borrowers; government clients for energy and transportation projects. Often facilitated through international general contractors who integrate Swiss technology into large-scale projects.

What connects them both. They need loans that banks no longer provide: tailor-made, below the minimum size required by major banks, with terms and currencies that suit the project. The major banks have withdrawn from this business. Only one active arranger remains in Zurich.

Why they keep coming back. The team has known the exporters for decades. The predecessor vehicle, under the same management, closed 122 transactions. Once a client has been financed, they return for the next project. Export financing is a repeat business.

The addressable market: approximately CHF 1.1 billion per year. Target: 10% of that.

CHF 1.3 billion per year. And almost no one to finance them.

Switzerland exports machinery, equipment, and technology all over the world. The federal government insures these transactions through SERV: approximately CHF 1.3 billion in long-term export credit volume annually. One-third of this goes to mechanical engineering, followed by rolling stock, energy technology, and medical technology.

The problem. The demand is there. The supply is not. Major banks now finance SERV loans only under rigid terms and for transactions above high minimum thresholds. In 2023, the last Swiss bank capable of arranging large transactions on its own disappeared. All that remained was a single active arranger in Zurich. Cantonal banks handle standard business—but not the customized deals under CHF 30 million.

The gap. Approximately CHF 1.1 billion per year in accessible market. For projects that are too small, too complex, or too far away for a bank’s balance sheet: East Africa, West Africa, the South Caucasus, Latin America.

Why it remains. Banks are no longer building specialized teams for small export loans. Regulations make loan portfolios on the balance sheet expensive. SERV, on the other hand, is growing, seeking new refinancing partners, and opening up to SME deals. The government wants these loans to flow. The banks do not.

The risk. SERV’s loss ratio for 2016–2025 was 1.19% of exposure. For an insured lender with a 2.5% deductible, this means a provision of 0.04% of the portfolio per year.

The opportunity. A 10% market share—approximately CHF 110 million in new business per year—is sufficient for a portfolio of CHF 444 million by 2031. No price war is expected: The market is too small for the big players and too complex for the small ones.

Competition? It’s left the market.

Ten years ago, several Swiss banks arranged customized export loans. Today, there’s just one. A single foreign bank in Zurich with a team and an appetite for business. That’s the extent of direct competition.

The major banks. They now only finance SERV loans starting at high minimum amounts, under rigid terms, and without structuring. For them, a CHF 5 million loan to West Africa is effort without return. They aren’t competitors—they’re the reason the gap exists.

The cantonal banks. They handle the standard business: supplier credits to France, Lombard loans for well-known names. That’s a good thing. It confirms that the market is functioning—and that the complex deals remain.

Local banks and multilateral institutions. In the buyer countries, they’re expensive, slow, or lack access to SERV. They’re partners in refinancing, not rivals in lending.

What sets the company apart. Three things no bank has anymore:

First, a team. Six senior specialists with SERV connections, documentation expertise, and a local presence. A team like this could no longer be recruited in Switzerland.

Second, access. Through international general contractors, the company identifies projects that never make it to a bank’s desk.

Third, structure. No bank balance sheet, no banking license, no capital requirements. Costs are a fraction of what a bank would need for the same business.

The proof. The predecessor vehicle, under the same management, closed 122 deals, with a portfolio exceeding CHF 170 million, without incurring a net loss (management figures, unaudited).

A price war is unlikely: The market is too small for the big players and too complex for everyone else.