Consumer lender Wisr put the brakes on new lending in the June quarter, as it grappled with high funding costs and rising arrears. Wisr reported that originations of A$53 million in the June quarter were down 71 per cent on originations in the same period last year and were less than half originations of $140 million in the March quarter. At the end of June, the loan book was worth $931 million – down from $968 million at the end of March. Wisr said it “deliberately moderated” loan originations to maintain balance sheet strength and focus on profitability. The arrears rate (90 days or more past due) has climbed from 99 basis points at the end of June last year to 1.25 per cent now.  Cost of funds is currently 6.5 per cent, and finance costs of $12.5 million was the biggest expense item during the quarter. Finance costs have increased by 26 per cent since the September quarter last year. The company is targeting a net interest margin of 6 per cent to achieve profitability but NIM is currently running below that level. Wisr has $450 million of committed funding and an undrawn capacity of $75 million in one warehouse; and committed funding of $235 million and undrawn capacity of $75 million in a second. The company said it is working on a third warehouse with a new senior funder. Operating revenue for the quarter was $24.6 million and operating cash flow of $2.6 million was down from $3.9 million in the March quarter.