Author: wiseclerk

Update: Current Status of my Bondora Portfolio

wiseclerk 6 Comments

In October 2012 I started p2p lending at Bondora. Since then I periodically wrote on my experiences – you can read my last review here. Since the start I did deposit 14,000 Euro (approx. 15,600 US$). My portfolio is very diversified. Most loan parts I hold are for loan terms between 36 and 60 months. Together the loans add up to 20,616 Euro outstanding principal. Loans in the value of 2,397 Euro are overdue, meaning they (partly) missed one or two repayments. 2,623 Euro principal is stuck in loans that are more than 60 days late. I already received 13,261 Euro in repaid principal back – this figures includes loans Bondora cancelled before payout. I reinvested all repayments.

Bondora Investments 04/15
Chart 1: Screenshot of loan status

At the moment I have 0 Euro in bids in open market listings and 741 Euro cash available, which is rather high but it will take only 2 to 3 loans that match my investment criteria to allocate the money.

Bondora 04/15
Chart 2: Screenshot of account balance

Return on Invest

Currently Isepankur shows my ROI to be 27.22%. In my own calculations, using XIRR in Excel, assuming that 30% of my 60+days overdue and 15% of my overdue loans will not be recovered, my ROI calculations result in 19.6%. Continue reading →

Funding Circle Announces 150M Investment led by DST Global

wiseclerk

Funding Circle LogoFunding Circle, p2p lending marketplace for SME loans, announced today that it has raised 150 million US$ in equity capital, in a round led by DST Global, with participation from Baillie Gifford, a fund managed by BlackRock, Sands Capital Ventures and Temasek. Goldman Sachs acted as exclusive placement agent for the oversubscribed round. The new funding will be used to consolidate the UK and US markets and fuel further growth.

The investment comes as lending to small businesses via the marketplace surges past the 1 billion US$ mark globally, following sustained growth in both the UK and US markets. Investors at Funding Circle are on track to lend 1 billion US$ over the next year, showcasing the huge potential of marketplace lending on the global economy.

Launched in 2010, Funding Circle is sparking a revolution in the way small businesses access finance, disrupting the traditional model of banking. Through the Funding Circle marketplace in the US, qualified individual investors and institutions can invest in successful small businesses looking for growth capital. In the UK, the Funding Circle marketplace is currently the fifth largest net lender to small businesses*, while in the US, lending in the first quarter of this year was seven times larger than lending in the first quarter of 2014.

Samir Desai, CEO and co-founder of Funding Circle said: “We believe Funding Circle is the future of small business finance globally, and it’s a vision we share with some of the largest and most respected investors in the world. Today’s news is the next step on our journey to creating a sustainable, category-defining business in a multi-billion dollar global market, where businesses will come to the marketplace to borrow from all types of investors. This investment, alongside prudent risk management, will ensure Funding Circle’s long term future.”

Sam Hodges, US Managing Director and co-founder said: “Today’s capital injection will allow us to accelerate efforts in the United States and help us better serve the 28 million Main Street small businesses many banks have left behind. This year, we’ll continue to invest heavily in technology and talent as we build a transparent, sustainable and diverse marketplace that helps American small businesses get access to the $40 billion per month they need to expand and grow.” Continue reading →

Money360 Secures 110M US$ for P2P Commercial Real Estate Loans, Including 100M US$ from Leading NY Investment Firm

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Money360, Inc. , an online marketplace / peer-to-peer (P2P)  lending platform that directly connects commercial real estate borrowers with accredited investors, today announced that is has secured 110 million US$ to originate/purchase loans to borrowers through its online lending platform. The money was secured through a 100 million US$ loan purchase agreement and partnership with a leading New York investment firm that has pioneered online lending, as well as 10 million US$ in cash raised by Money360 through its wholly owned subsidiary, M360 Fund 1, LLC, from investors including investment banking executives and successful technology entrepreneurs.

The funding and loan purchase capacity comes at an ideal time, too, as more commercial borrowers than ever are using Money360’s online marketplace to find the best solution for their commercial real estate borrowing needs.  Since re-launching in September 2014, the company has experienced significant growth with more than 150 million US$ in loan requests last month alone. Continue reading →

Lending Club and Citi Team Up on Community Lending

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Lending Club Lending Club Logoand Citi are launching a pioneering new partnership with Varadero Capital L.P., an alternative management firm focused on specialized credit investments, to facilitate up to 150 million US$ in loans designed to provide more affordable credit to underserved borrowers and communities.

Renaud Laplanche, founder and CEO of Lending Club, said, “Many banks across the country are looking for opportunities to enhance their community lending efforts for low- and moderate-income families. We’re excited to expand the use of the Lending Club platform to make this process easier for Citi and other banks, and help lower the cost of credit for borrowers.”

“It is important that we help increase access to financing alternatives for American families,” said John Heppolette, Co-Head and Managing Director of Citi Community Capital at Citi. “This partnership is a direct response to that need and will help provide a viable source of responsible credit. We are proud to be part of this initiative.”

Citi Community Capital is the group within Citi that focuses on providing community development loans and investments that help meet the credit needs of communities and which receive consideration under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Continue reading →

Saving Stream Review – My Experiences

wiseclerk

Saving Stream LogoExactly 4 months ago I deposited money at Saving Stream and started lending. Saving Stream is a UK p2p lending marketplace operated by Lendy Ltd. that facilitates bridging loans, that is short-term loans for typically less than a year, secured by commercial property. Investors can see valuation documents for each listed loan. Saving Stream operates since January 2013 and with 25 million GBP loan volume originated since launch it is one of the mid-sized p2p lending sites in the UK.

Saving Stream is open to international investors; you don’t have to be a UK resident. Investors are paid 12% interest, accumulating starting at the day they bid on a loan. The interest is paid monthly (starting with drawdown); the principal amount is repaid at the end of the loan term. Saving Stream does not charge investors any fees.

Since I don’t have a UK bank account I used Transferwise when depositing money in order to save on bank fees. For larger amounts (approx. >1,000 EUR) it might be even more efficient to use Currencyfair so check that too.

Some of the smaller loans (e.g. 200,000 GBP) fill within hours of coming onto the marketplace. I do like that I can deposit money (Cashier>Deposit>Step 1) and bid with this money without having to actually wait for the money to arrive (which usually took 1-3 days with Transferwise).

Saving Stream Loan Listing
Screenshot of Saving Stream loans listed

The Saving Stream p2p lending marketplace is very simplistic and easy to handle. There is a view of the live loans. Only the green ones have amounts open for bidding. The secondary market does not have a seperate view but is integrated into the live loans view. There are no fees and markups/discounts when buying and selling on the secondary market. So when a loan part is listed for sale, the amount is just added to the available amount for this loan. Continue reading →

Credit Suisse NEXT Investors Leads 165M US$ Investment Round in Prosper Marketplace

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Prosper Marketplace, Prosper Logowhich operates a privately held p2p lending marketplace, today announced a 165 million US$ Series D financing, led by Credit Suisse NEXT Investors, part of Credit Suisse Asset Management. Additional participants included J.P. Morgan Asset Management, SunTrust Banks, a subsidiary of USAA, BBVA Ventures (BBVA’s representative office in San Francisco), Neuberger Berman Private Equity Funds, Passport Capital, Breyer Capital, and others. The latest funding will support the company’s continued growth, expansion, and development of a national brand as it builds new products and services for the marketplace’s borrowers and investors. This round put the valuation of the company at roughly 1.87 billion US$.

The funding comes on the heels of a record quarter, with nearly 600 million US$ in loans originated through the Prosper platform, up 200% from the year ago quarter. The significant growth is a true indication of the increasing mainstream acceptance of marketplace lending.

“This investment is a testament to the efforts of our entire team in changing how people experience access to credit,” said Aaron Vermut, chief executive officer at Prosper Marketplace. “The explosion of interest in P2P lending demonstrates that a shift is in progress in the way that consumers borrow and lend. This new funding will help us scale the business to meet this growing awareness and demand.” Continue reading →