Komuno – launch of digital platform for municipal loans

A solution that enables local authorities and capital providers to make optimum use of digital technologies in their lending activities

• Helaba Digital and Lucht Probst Associates to launch “Komuno” joint venture
• Digital platform connects local authorities and banks in the arrangement of municipal loans and consi­derably facili­tates tendering process

Helaba Digital GmbH, the investment company of Helaba Landes­bank Hessen-Thüringen, and Lucht Probst Associates (LPA), are setting up a joint venture called “Komuno”. Together, they have developed a solution that enables local authorities and capital providers to make optimum use of digital techno­logies in their lending activities. The “Komuno” digital platform, which will allow banks to bid for municipal loan tenders, will be available from 3 September 2018.

By combining its long­standing experience in the local govern­ment sector as well as in financial markets, Helaba has colla­borated with LPA in creating a highly specialised platform that is tailored to the require­ments of the public sector: Komuno is a secure, web-based solution that does not depend on a specific location and contains the infra­structure of a digital marketplace. This is where supply and demand meet and are brought together in a way that is ideally suited to the needs of both sides. Komuno enables the tendering process for long-term investment loans and short-term cash advances to be consi­derably simplified using the individually customisable workflow system. Depending on their specific needs, local authorities them­selves can choose which investors they would like to approach; and, if preferred, in a variety of different ways. The range of services available on the platform includes new loans, prolongations of existing loans, short-term liquidity lines and long-term fixed-interest finance. Thanks to the availability of municipal budget figures, budgetary docu­mentation or infor­mation about overall debt levels, investors are able to make rapid, informed decisions with minimal effort.

“For us, Komuno is a further building block in our digital agenda towards estab­lishing a catalogue of digital products and services for our clients”, commented Thomas Groß, the Vice-Chairman of Helaba’s Board of Managing Directors.

“We are convinced that local authorities and banks are ready to transition to new media. In Helaba and the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, we have found the best possible partners for this venture”, added Stefan Lucht, founder and managing director of LPA.

The founders

Helaba Digital

Helaba Digital GmbH is an invest­ment company owned by Helaba Landes­bank Hessen-Thüringen that focuses on innovative companies that are the driving forces behind the issue of digital trans­formation in the areas of financial services (Fintechs), regulation (Regtechs) and the real estate sector (Proptechs). This leads to invest­ments that actively complement the Helaba Group’s business model and optimise the bank’s core processes.

LPA

LPA is a financial service provider with a particular focus on capital market activities, offering strategic advice, management and implemen­tation services as well as a broad suite of software to optimise processes and regulatory compliance.
In addition to a global network of locations, the company, which was estab­lished in 1999, employs 200 people at its head office in Frankfurt am Main. In co-operation with the DSV Group, a provider of digital and analogue media products for the German savings banks sector, LPA has also been respon­sible for the develop­ment of the municipal debt management system “S-Kompass”.