"We developed the BlinkS platform with the needs of our clients, namely buyers and sellers of financial credits, in mind." Gabriella Breno, CEO of Prelios Innovation, explained the genesis of the digital marketplace launched three years ago by the Prelios Group's fintech company while speaking at Credit Innovation Day, the second day of the CreditNews Credit Fair. "The goal was to simplify the whole mechanism of transferring credit portfolios, allowing immediate and transparent contact between the two parties. We started with NPLs, long the main criticality of the Italian banking system. The great deleveraging action implemented by banks, mainly through securitizations with GACS, has assigned these loans under management to specialized servicers. Hence the need to propose new solutions through an alternative strategy, i.e., through the sale of single names or sub-portfolios, to parties that by type of sector, geographic area or by specialization were able to enhance the best value of these credits and therefore willing to offer a purchase price equal to or higher than the originator's expectations." With Gabriella Breno, Laura Grassi Head of Fintech & Insurtech Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano; Serena Torielli Co-Founder and CEO of Virtual B SpA; Claudio Nardone CEO Sagitta Sgr; Stefano Piscitelli Managing Director of Younited SA; and Paul Renda CEO of Spartan Tech were also part of the plenary discussion - on June 15 at MiCo in Milan.
An important element of BlinkS's case history (www.blinks.prelios.com) for Gabriella Breno is "the possibility of quickly demobilizing otherwise unliquidable receivables, with a simple, low-cost and fast tool. This also has a social value for us, if we consider the particular economic context." Prelios Innovation's digital platform is cited among the best European benchmarks by EBA and ECB. Originally intended only for the trading of NPLs, BlinkS today is the digital marketplace of reference in Italy and Europe and has been transformed into a full-fledged digital ecosystem dedicated to the management of credit portfolios of different kinds. "We wanted to create a partnership relationship with our clients. The use of the platform and its tools - data quality check, simulation model, VDR - is actually free of charge and the fee is due only if the transaction is successful," recalls the CEO of Prelios Innovation. "The technology we have developed is crucial for our clients, but it is not enough; in fact, I believe that the Prelios Innovation team contributes to making a difference. The attitude to finding solutions and the approach to supporting the client so that they can take full advantage of BlinkS are indispensable."
