From consumers, to SME’s, to property owners and students, the Peer-to-Peer Lending sector is making its mark!
It would be quite obvious to report on how optimistic we are about the Peer-to-Peer Lending sector and how our platform is filling a niche in the market. However, instead of creating a post about the benefits or our growth projections, we figured it was best to provide some current industry figures, articles and even one of our client testimonials.
Global Phenomenon
Peer-to-Peer Lending is a global industry experiencing an uptrend in some of the world’s largest markets:
UK – Last quarter (Q2 2015) was record breaking, with more than £500 million worth of P2P loans made, bringing the cumulative lending total for the sector up to £3.15 billion.
This is almost £52m above the already impressive £455.6m lent in Q1 2015. According to the data released by the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA), P2P lending has more than 116,00 lenders in the UK market, with nearly 189,000 borrowers, both individuals and businesses. To learn more visit P2PFA.
US – Lending Club, one of America’s oldest and largest platforms reached the $11B loan mark by helping over 880,500 borrowers achieve their financial goals. Learn more by visiting Lending Club
China – The world’s largest direct lending market, topped 97.5 billion yuan (£9.94 billion) in August, according to a report in the Shanghai Daily. Given the market conditions investing in P2P loans is part of the hunt for yield. By the end of 2015 Online Lending House expects over 1 trillion yuan in online loans to be transacted over the year. Read more via Crowdfundinsider.com.
The Not So Alternative Lending
Louise Beaumont of GLI Finance, a Proplend institutional investor, recently spoke to City AM about the not so alternative lending sector. She outlines how alternative lenders are able to originate and credit assess smaller loans, something that the highly regulated and overly structured banks are struggling to do. Not to mention the fact that this new “alt fi” sector, defined as anything that isn’t traditional bank term loans and overdrafts, may not be so alternative when SMEs are accessing £76bn from the sector, approx. 46% of the value (Banks account for £163bn). To read more visit City AM.
What’s Next? Innovative Finance ISA
During the July 2015 budget announcement the UK Government revealed that it will introduce the Innovative Finance ISA, for loans arranged via a P2P platform, from 6 April 2016. Many reported on the matter, including InvestUp.co who believe “it will open up choice for savers, reinvigorate the ISA market and give savers a higher return on their investments, all while allowing balanced diversification to take place through lending across 100 of different sites and companies.” To learn more about Proplend’s view on the Innovative Finance ISA visit our NEWS page. Or click here to view the UK Governments “ISA qualifying investments: consultation on including peer to peer loans.”
What Are Proplend Investors Saying?
“Proplend’s business model of having first call on the properties on which funds are lent, is reassuring. All funds invested with Proplend have started earning interest straight away and are paid out every month. I am thinking of increasing my investment.” – Proplend Investor
Want to learn more? Our Peer-to-Peer Lending Infographic offers great insight into the sector. Check it out in our GUIDES page or click here!
