"Whereby banks were participating in approximately 30% of the financing we set up in 2023/2024, this has increased to approximately 50%," said director of NLInvesteert, Dirkjan Takke, in a recent update.

The platform has enabled approximately €1.3 billion in SME financing since 2015.



This turnaround indicates that banks are relaxing their position with their SME clients again. All of the big three Dutch banks are reportedly on board with this trend, and they are providing increasingly attractive interest rates.

This is good news for entrepreneurs, says Takke, as they will now be able to finance their business growth at better terms.



However, Takke remains cautious. Is this a real long-term shift or just a tactical play by banks to gain back market share? In recent years, hybrid financing, which combines bank loans with private investment, has been increasingly significant as banks retreated because of stringent regulations and risk aversion.

In the second quarter of this year, NLInvesteert reported €66 million in new financing.

There have been 1.3 billion euros in loans so far, with more than 757 million euros provided by private investors. These investors have received consistent returns, and the platform posted a net return of 7.

9% in H1 2025.

It will be interesting to see if banks will continue with this more forward-leaning feeling. For now, it seems that who know.