UK listed marketplace lending fund, P2P Global Investments, has reported struggling performance in 2016; monthly return in September was 0.23% for a year-to-date return of 3.41%; target annual return is 6% to 8%; peripheral factors such as debt facilities and currency hedges have affected the return; the fund is now selling at a discount of 19.8%; has been steadily buying back shares to help improve the NAV and also using securitization to reduce debt costs; loan defaults and delinquencies have been higher as a result of longer maturities, however the primary factor affecting the return is the broad global diversification of the loans resulting in losses from currency hedging. Source
The P2P Global Investments Fund has assets under management of GBP833 million ($1.07 billion) and reported an increase of 0.55% in its March NAV; total NAV return for Q1 2017 was 1.18% and the Fund has decreased its discount to 15%; the Fund has been continuously evolving its strategy and is also reviewing its investment manager. Source
The P2P Global Investments Fund is reviewing its fund management arrangements with investment manager MW Eaglewood Europe LLP; MW Eaglewood has submitted plans for improving the performance of the fund which include fund management changes and a discount reduction plan; further discussions over the fund's management are expected to continue; the fund is also reporting some factors that could improve including better risk default characteristics from loans concentrated at durations of 7 to 21 months and increased utilization of credit facilities. Source
The P2P Global Investments Trust has reported February performance; NAV return of 0.38% was helped by the firm's current buyback program and is the 33rd consecutive month of positive NAV returns since inception; 12 month return is 3.92% and inception to date return is 14.20%; investment manager is actively diversifying to reduce exposure to US consumer loans and shift to European real estate and bonds. Source
P2P lender China Rapid Finance has announced a partnership with Tencent's wealth management group, Licaitong; China Rapid Finance will list investments on the Licaitong platform; the product listings will include fixed-term investments ranging from nine months to 18 months with expected annualized returns ranging from 4.65% to 6.19%; the investment products reached capacity of RMB 27 million ($3.89 million) within two hours of the launch; China Rapid Finance will continue to offer investments through the Licaitong partnership; in a statement regarding the partnership, Dr. Zang Wang, CEO of China Rapid Finance, said, "This collaboration between CRF and Tencent's Licaitong platform will support the development of inclusive finance in China." Source
Collateral has announced plans to test a mobile app for borrowers and investors; the platform sees app development as a trend for the industry and will be one of the first platforms to offer a mobile app for both borrowers and investors; it also expects the mobile app to be a factor for managing competition with banks; Collateral is a secured personal property lender offering loans of GBP5,000 ($6,415) to more than GBP1 million ($1.3 million). Source
Funding Societies is the first P2P lender to join the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers (IACPM); the IACPM was established in 2001 and is focused on supporting a community of members in the practice of credit portfolio management; the Association currently has approximately 100 financial institution members. Source
Small business P2P lender Lendix has announced expansion to Italy; based in Paris the Italy expansion follows expansion to Spain in 2016; Lendix has hired Sergio Zocchi who will be the CEO for the new Italy business based in Milan; as of December 31, 2016 Lendix had originated 57 million euros ($61.01 million) in loans; it is also rumored that the firm plans to continue its expansion across Europe in 2017 with a new office potentially opening in the UK. Source
Lufax sees a growing market opportunity in China's retail investment space and is planning to increase its focus on this area of the business; the firm is currently the world's highest valued P2P lender at $18.5 billion; it has $56.9 billion in client assets with P2P loans accounting for a third which is expected to decrease to 15%; it plans to expand the investments it offers through online brokerage accounts and also enhance its mobile and online trading capabilities; the firm is also rumored to have plans for an initial public offering in Hong Kong in the second half of 2017. Source
P2P lending has evolved over the last ten years, with marketplace lenders increasingly offering traditional banking products; the market's first online lender, Zopa, is taking the lead on offering traditional banking products with an announcement reporting the lender's application for UK bank licensing to offer deposit accounts and a broader range of credit products; other marketplace lenders have also expressed interest in offering deposit products including SoFi and Affirm; as P2P lenders become more integrated into the financial ecosystem, it is likely that they will offer a broader range of products with traditional banking characteristics while continuing to be market innovators. Source