m2btj
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Post by m2btj on Nov 3, 2022 10:32:49 GMT
Laurence Samuels from Financial Thing has CEO Louis Schwartz on his livestream, at 7.30pm tonight. Louis will talk about the business, economic outlook & take questions. You can view the stream here: youtu.be/rfcJ2vX6P38
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mogish
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Post by mogish on Nov 3, 2022 13:18:00 GMT
Laurence Samuels from Financial Thing has CEO Louis Schwartz on his livestream, at 7.30pm tonight. Louis will talk about the business, economic outlook & take questions. You can view the stream here: youtu.be/rfcJ2vX6P38Will give this a watch. Its been a while since I watched Laurance from FT. Liked his talks as he drove around on his bike rather than the quotes he finds online. The Loanpad interview should provide answers to interest rates on the platform long term , especially after todays BOE announcement.
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firedog
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Post by firedog on Nov 3, 2022 13:52:35 GMT
Yes looking forward to this - Louis Schwartz came across very well last time he was on. Very bright – so will be fascinating to hear his take on things.
For the moment, at least, Loanpad appears to be continuing to attract customers and investments despite margins closing between its returns and those of high street banks. (Number of investors today at a new high of 4361 – up 1.9% compared to a month ago, while average lender lends £17,576, up 1.3% since 3 October)
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Post by Ace on Nov 4, 2022 0:14:53 GMT
It was a good showing from Louis. We'll worth a watch of the recording for anyone that missed it IMO (you can click the link in the OP to watch the recording). And well done Laurence for being the only one I'm aware of that arranges these interviews with P2P execs and allows us to ask them live questions. A few salient points from memory: - Loanpad constantly reassess lender rates and are aware that they need to keep them higher than FSCS protected accounts with equivalent terms.
- Loanpad have been raising borrower rates for some time now (to around 7.25%) to allow them to raise rates to lenders.
- Rates to borrowers are likely going to be raised further as a result of today's BoE rate rise. Further lender rate rises are likely to follow.
- They have started to move away from fixed rates to borrowers so that they have scope to alter rates when circumstances dictate.
- Loanpad has been profitable since the middle of last year.
- The long awaited platform update, including allowing reinvestment of any amount down to a single penny, is coming soon(ish).
- The bottleneck at loanpad is on the lender side rather than the borrower side, I.e. they could easily deploy more lender funds.
- They have chosen not to onboard more new lending partners recently (presumably so as not to disappoint existing partners), but have around 6 waiting to join when an increase in lender funds allows.
- An advertising campaign will likely be employed in the new year to attempt to draw in more lender funds.
- The original lending partner now only accounts for, very roughly, 20% of the loanbook. (So diversification among lending partners is better than
many of us I thought). - None of the extant loanbook, including the currently defaulted loans, give concern as to the likelihood of Loanpad being repaid in full.
I'm sure others will add any points that I have missed that they consider to be important. And please let me know if you feel that I have misinterpreted any of the above.
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firedog
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Post by firedog on Nov 4, 2022 7:32:17 GMT
Thanks Ace - just a few additional points from what was an excellent interview - very little fluff and worth watching:
Loanpad has an advantage being a short-term lender – typically loans are for 9-12 months – so 5-10% of portfolio matures each month and that provides liquidity to increase rates.
Loanpad negotiates interest rates with lending partners who negotiate with underlying borrowers. Have been increasing rates to lending partners throughout year. At start of 2022, typical rate was 6-6.25 per cent. Now it's 'north' of 7% and probably around 8% as of early next year. All dependent on base rates as a lot of new Loanpad loans are at variable rates.
Instant access Classic account accounts for under 10% of invested money. Vast majority in 60-day standard or ISA accounts, which allows for better liquidity planning.
Early withdrawal from Premium account is still allowed (with a 0.5% penalty). But you need to ask for it. This option is rarely available on the platform itself (only appears there is a huge amount of unexpected extra liquidity).
Also addressed lender numbers. The increase in lenders has been slower over last two months, but there continues to be a net increase in lender funds, obviously a good thing.
Oh - and the Welcome Bonus/refer a friend promos will end soon - FCA requirement
Helpfully the video has now been split into chapters, so you can easily scroll to the bit you're interested in.
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mogish
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Post by mogish on Nov 4, 2022 12:16:40 GMT
Very good interview. No bs. Straight answers.
Respectable guy.
Apparently an ex lawyer.
Enjoyed watching it. Laurence kept it flowing .
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Steerpike
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Post by Steerpike on Nov 4, 2022 13:59:45 GMT
Over the last year I have transferred out all of my Assetz ISA, apart from the distressed rump, and most of it went to Loanpad.
With this interview Louis Schwartz reinforced my confidence in Loanpad.
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zlb
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Post by zlb on Nov 25, 2022 12:52:53 GMT
I don't trust these interviews now, after Lendy and others looked good in FT vids  and a lawyer - well they are trained in poker face, yes? What makes this different, in your view? e.g. the bottleneck is in lending, not borrowing; How is that confirmed as true? We will be expanding soon and then bring in those new partners. Isn't this the point at which others have failed? How will they control this process and maintain quality? |
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firedog
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Post by firedog on Nov 25, 2022 13:59:21 GMT
I don't trust these interviews now, after Lendy and others looked good in FT vids and a lawyer - well they are trained in poker face, yes? What makes this different, in your view? e.g. the bottleneck is in lending, not borrowing; How is that confirmed as true? We will be expanding soon and then bring in those new partners. Isn't this the point at which others have failed? How will they control this process and maintain quality? One way they appear different to me is past performance – during the early days of the pandemic they still allowed exits within a day even as others (hello Assetz Capital, nice to see you, Ratesetter) were locking people in. I have not had a more reliable investment since 2019. Loanpad are small and unflashy and profitable. Were those characteristics of Lendy? I don't know, I never invested with them. You can get some idea of the 'bottleneck' by looking at the daily stats: Loanpad is very open about how much of lenders' money is deployed. Loanpad had a single partner for years and has expanded gradually up to nine over the last year or so. I don't think they're desperate to expand at a rapid rate. Louis's poker face had nothing to do with my impression of his business – and I've never heard of that aspect of a lawyer's training! His clear answers to questions impressed me more, directly addressing a couple of hitherto unresolved questions I had - continuing profitability and how they manage to keep lender rates increasing without damaging the company's own profitability. YMMV of course and past performance no guide to the future etc etc.
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and a lawyer - well they are trained in poker face, yes? What makes this different, in your view? e.g. the bottleneck is in lending, not borrowing; How is that confirmed as true?