A bond backed by customer loans was Enpal Financial Services' first securitisation transaction in November– and via the securitisation of loans for residential solar plants the company has introduced a new asset class to the securitisation market, says Felix Eisel in the podcast „Nachhaltiges Investieren“ by Börsen-Zeitung.

Eisel co-founded Enpal Financial Services, and the unit has opened up new financing options on the capital markets for the Berlin-based company, which are strategically important: Enpal, which has financed its rapid growth heavily on the basis of debt, has been offering solar systems for purchase on instalments for several months now. The Berlin-based company has to refinance the customer loans itself.

Eisel has spent his professional life in the finance industry, but had a different perspective for many years. Before joining Enpal, he was in the market with the fund boutique f3x Capital, which he wound up - not least because the regulatory requirements in the ESG sector were associated with high costs.

Nevertheless, he couldn't let go of the topic of sustainability. „I was also involved in providing activist support to companies and creating an impact,“ he says about his time as an investor. He says one can take much more direct action in the company itself. He met Enpal co-founder Viktor Wingert through a mutual contact, and made the move to the corporate side.

Enpal intends to use its access to the securitisation market on a regular basis. It will probably go to the market around once a year, Eisel expects.

When setting up the new unit, it was crucial to get the right people on the team. „You need people who come from the industry and have already dealt with structured financing. You need people who have regulatory experience,“ he explains. At Enpal, it helped that there was already a good network and expertise in-house. The Financial Services team now consists of around 30 people and works closely with the Enpal Group's refinancing team, which is responsible for refinancing lease agreements, for example.

Is Enpal now evolving from a provider of solar systems to a financial services provider? „First and foremost, we are an operational company,“ emphasises Eisel. Nevertheless, financing is „naturally an essential part of the added value“ of solar systems, which are offered in instalments over up to 25 years. On his profile on the business network Linkedin, Eisel writes that he is trying to harmonise bold entrepreneurship with the constructive paranoia of an investor. He believes that he is currently achieving this quite well with the Financial Services team. „The characters that we have brought together– it's a pretty good constellation that we have", he says.