RateSetter reports solid loan performance

Investors committing funds to peer-to-peer lender RateSetter are taking a cautious approach, with the average investment just over A$6000. However, the company is confident that if Australia mirrors trends in the UK, where the company has operated for several years, investors will soon be increasing their funding.

RateSetter Australia chief executive Daniel Foggo said the company had written $7 million of loans since opening in Australia last November, with the average loan size of $16,391.

The most common reason for borrowing is to purchase a car. Foggo said this was also the most common type of loan in the UK.

Foggo said the performance of the portfolio was good, with only a couple of loans in arrears and no defaults.

The average age of borrowers is 40, they have an average income of $90,000 and half of them are home owners.

RateSetter is a true peer-to-peer lender, offering a platform where loan pricing is done on a "last match rates" basis. Lenders post the price at which they are prepared to lend and borrowers post the rate they are looking for; when there is a match the transaction proceeds.

Foggo said that, as activity builds on the platform, rates are coming down. The rate on a five-year loan has come in from ten per cent to 9.5 per cent so far this year, while the rate on a three-year loan has come in from 8.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.  The rate on a one-year loan is around five per cent.

In the UK RateSetter investors have an average investment of  £20,000 and Foggo said he expected the investment amount to trend up to that level here. About ten per cent of investors are self-managed superannuation fund trustees.