On Tuesday, online platform Proplend gave its 2017 peer-to-peer lending year in review. The lender listed the various accomplishments that the lending industry experienced in the past twelve months. The accomplishments are the following:
The majority of platforms gained full Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorization
- Many platforms sought ISA Manager Status to launch Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) – with Proplend being among the early adopters.
- LendInvest withdrew FCA approval application and stepped down from the Peer to Peer Finance Association as it moved from all P2P activity
- RateSetter’s wholesale lending practices notably proved costly. The lender eventually withdrew from the P2PFA after breathing the association’s operating principles
Proplend then listed its accomplishments as well, which included:
- The lender’s loan book increased 620% from the previous year and almost doubled in total
- Lending through its platform has now exceeded £30 million, secured against commercial property worth over £60 million
- £6 million of loans were transacted through the PLE a 300% increase on 2016
- The number of invested platform Lenders increased 290%
The lender went on to note its plans for 2018:
- The redesign of Lender Dashboards, Proplend.com website and the launch of our Auto-Invest product
- Initially Proplend Auto-Invest will be a low-risk (Tranche A), three-year, Innovative Finance ISA product targeting returns of c.5% each year
- The lender has built a “healthy” loan pipeline which will be available on the platform from early 2018, subject to due diligence, valuations, and legals.
Proplend added:
“We’d like to take the time to thank all Proplend Lenders for their support throughout 2017 and offer a warm welcome all our new Lenders and Borrowers. We have hopefully shown that not being the biggest of the platforms can be a virtue, with the quality of our proposition and consistent results being recognised. This will remain at our core as we grow the business in 2018 and beyond.”