Helsinki, Finland, 2014-05-27 12:15 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jonas Lindholm (M.Sc. Eng) has been appointed new CEO for Euroloan Group PLC. Mr. Lindholm takes over in a phase of rapid growth. “We have completely changed our organization and streamlined our business model during the past year. Now it looks like the hard and dedicated work of our people and the investments we have made in our systems are paying off. Our monthly lending volume growth rate has averaged over 10% over the last six months, and the future also look very promising. New sales channels, competitive rates and our well-received virtual credit card service combined with our scalable cloud service make a killer combination. This is just the beginning”, states the new Group CEO. “The returns from the business are very good, and our new customers are increasingly in the premium segment. Our credit losses have dropped to a much lower level thanks to our improved customer base and better scoring. Growing this quick requires additional capital input. Funding the growth has become easier with our lower risk level. We have also been able to strengthen our equity considerably during the spring.”
Mr. Lindholm joined Euroloan in 2010 as Group CFO from Pöyry, where he worked as Vice President, Strategy & Finance. His professional background also includes KPMG (Head of Business Area Risk Advisory Services), and ABB (Vice President, ABB Financial Services). He is a founding member and holds a Fellowship with the Oxford Leadership Academy. He is chairman of Euroloan Finance AB and heads the Euroloan Group risk committee.
“Since joining the company five years ago as CFO and board member, Jonas has been key in forming our strategic, FinTech approach to banking and financing that has proven to be very successful. His strong background in risk management and compliance, combined with an emphasis on financial performance is exactly what we were looking for”, says Executive Chairman Tommi Lindfors, who previously held the CEO position in Euroloan Group.
The Board of Directors also sees some changes, as Chairman Tommi Lindfors (M.Sc. Econ.) takes over from Timo Saini. The Board elected by the annual general meeting now consists of Tommi Lindfors, Jonas Lindholm, Heikki Palosuo, Timo Saini and Riitta Salonen. Timo Saini comments: “Tommi is one of the founders of the company and knows the business inside and out. As Chairman, my task was to form a top-class board with professional members with a solid financial services background. With this achieved, I happily hand over to Tommi and expect great things from the company”. “Timo did a great job in finding the right people for us, and my job as Executive Chairman is now to bring the business to a whole new level, with a strong base in the current operations. Our present Board is just right, combining cutting-edge banking and international business experience with web entrepreneurship and solid risk management”, Mr. Lindfors concludes.
Management appointments
Eric Sederholm was appointed CEO of Euroloan Group PLC’s Swedish subsidiary Euroloan Finance AB, which is in the process of applying for a license from the Swedish FSA. Mr. Sederholm has a background in in the financial sector, where he has worked for over 25 years. He has experience from most financial services products and was co-founder and CEO of Lantmännen Finans, a leasing company with high profitability licensed by the Swedish Financial Services Authority. Before his appointment at Euroloan, Eric worked as a Regional Director for the Greater Stockholm region at FOREX Bank. He also worked as Interim manager, CEO and National Director for FOREX Bank Norway. He has a solid banking background including, in addition to above, Danske Bank and Handelsbanken. Eric is strong in general management and in interacting between co-workers, operational units, customers, partners and government authorities. He has entrepreneurial skills and strategic approach with high knowledge in retail banking and leasing business.
Matti Malkki (M.Sc. Econ.) has been appointed as CFO of Euroloan Group. He has worked in financial services since 2007, and joined Euroloan in 2013 as Financial Manager from the CFO position at Bon Securities.
Joachim von Schantz (M.Sc Quantum Mechanics) has been appointed COO of Euroloan Group. He previously worked as Euroloan Group’s CIO, and joined Euroloan in 2012 from the position as Project Management Officer at Paf. He is building Fintech capabilities and Operational governance practices. He has excellent understanding and pragmatic knowledge in the whole systems engineering and organisational structures, and he is able to apply this expertise in delivering. Having been working in the software industry since early nineties he truly appreciates the Agile practices of the new millennium, currently he is focusing on cloud based and lean financial services. He values the discipline and commitment the group is showing and is responsible for supporting Marketing, Quality, Software Development, Production and IT department heads in their work.
Euroloan Group PLC is a rapidly growing international FinTech group, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. Euroloan has developed the most efficient business models and systems in the market, and is one of the leading service providers in key European markets. The company provides customers with real-time credit, enabled by a fully automated cloud service. Euroloan has consolidated its market position and increased its market share continuously from the time the company was established in 2007. More information about the company can be found at www.euroloan.com.
Jonas Lindholm, CEO
Euroloan Group PLC
Phone +358 10 217 1003