RateSetter

RateSetter
Founded United Kingdom (2009)
Founder Rhydian Lewis, Peter Behrens
Headquarters London, England, UK
Area served
 UK, Australia
Products Financial Services
Website https://www.RateSetter.com/

RateSetter is a British peer-to-peer lending company based in Bishopsgate, London. The company is known for having introduced the concept of a "Provision Fund" into peer to peer lending. Launched in October 2010, the company has matched more than £2bn in peer to peer loans and has over 400,000 investors and borrowers.[1]

History

RateSetter's holding company, Retail Money Market Ltd, was incorporated in October 2009 by Rhydian Lewis, an investment banker from Lazard, and Peter Behrens, a lawyer turned banker formerly of Royal Bank of Scotland.[2] The company was privately funded from the start by angel investors, and raised £20m in its most recent funding round.[3][4][5][6]

In July 2014, it was announced that the British Business Bank would begin lending through RateSetter to support individuals, sole traders or partnerships borrowing for business purposes.[7]

On 7 December 2015, RateSetter moved from Southwark to new offices in Bishopsgate, London.[8]

RateSetter opened a site in Australia in November 2014.[9] The Australian branch, with the office located in Sydney, is managed and majority-owed locally. It claims to have been the first peer-to-peer lending platform in the country open to retail customers.[10] In March 2017, it was announced that over $100m in Australian dollars has been lent out through the platform.[11] Equivalent to around £60m, the amount remains more than an order of magnitude smaller than the volume boasted by the British company.

Products

RateSetter is based on the principle of an exchange, with borrowers and lenders competing for matched loans based on price, with both sides of the market specifying the rate they will accept. The firm has four markets for lenders to participate in: Rolling, 1 Year and 5 Year.[12][13]

Borrowers can apply for a loan for between 6 and 60 months. The company has strict lending criteria, accepting between 12 and 15 per cent of borrower applications.[14]

The firm introduced to consumer finance the concept of a "Provision Fund" to reimburse lenders in the event of a late payment or default. This is a capital sum (over £17,000,000 as of September 2016),[15] generated by borrowers' payment of a "credit rate" fee based on their credit profile. As of September 2016, RateSetter claims that none of its individual investors have ever lost money.[15]

Notable partners of RateSetter include giffgaff[16] and CommuterClub.[17]

Awards

The firm won the Moneywise Most Trusted Alternative Financial Provider Award 2013.[18] In May 2013, it won the Credit Today Award for "Best Alternative lender of the Year - Consumer".[19] It has been awarded 4 Stars by Defaqto in the Crowdfunding (Loan based) category.[20]

The firm is a founding member of the P2P Finance Association,[21] the first trade association for the peer to peer finance industry.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RateSetter Statistics". Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Hurley, James (7 October 2010). "Daily Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "Peer-to-peer lender Ratesetter doubles sales as it targets listing". Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Management Today". Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "RateSetter Press" (PDF). Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "RateSetter blog". Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Vicki Owen (2014-07-13). "Government-owned British Business Bank to begin lending £10m through peer-to-peer lender RateSetter". This is Money.
  8. ↑ Lucy Bott. "We are moving". RateSetter Blog. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  9. ↑ Shaun Drummond. "RateSetter targets Australian ‘savers’ with new lending website". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "About us - RateSetter Australia". www.ratesetter.com.au. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  11. ↑ "RateSetter passes $100m milestone | RateSetter Australia". www.ratesetter.com.au. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  12. ↑ "Ratesetter". Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  13. ↑ "RateSetter Press". Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "Scotsman". Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  15. 1 2 "Ratesetter Provision Fund". Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  16. ↑ "Peer to Peer Finance | giffgaff". www.giffgaff.com. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  17. ↑ "About Us - CommuterClub". CommuterClub. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  18. ↑ "Moneywise Most Trusted Alternative Financial Provider Award". Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Credit Today award for Best Alternative lender of the Year - Consumer". Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Defaqto Star Ratings". Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  21. ↑ "P2P Finance Association". Retrieved 18 May 2012.
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