Swiss Firm Crédit des Alpes Launches Cost-Cutting Online Film Bond Division (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Swiss investment firm Crédit des Alpes is launching a new film financing division called The Film Bond, which offers an online tool that it claims reduces standard costs of completion bonds that most indie producers need to get their projects off the ground.

A completion bond is simply a guarantee that a film’s production will be completed on time and on budget. If a movie runs over schedule or over budget, the completion bonder pays to finish the film or makes the decision to abandon production and repays the investors who financed the project.

Most independent films need a bond to go into production. The new Crédit des Alpes Film Bond unit specializes in offering low-cost indie film financing through self-completion bonds that are connected to an online banking platform that comprises all key players involved in a movie from pre-production to post.

The Film Bond platform allows all partners on a film — producers, sales agents, distributors — to access a film’s financials from the start and monitor where things stand as production progresses.