|
Post by GSV3MIaC on Sept 12, 2015 15:19:19 GMT
Another vote for Dynamic bidding (if my original suggestion doesn't already count). It takes a LOT of load off the servers, assuming you can work out the (not very hard) algorithm to figure out where the 'cut off edge' is at any time, (and deal properly with the LIFO (one hopes LIFO .. other options exist) when there are too many edge bids).
It means any one lender really only needs to login, look, and bid one time. OK, maybe several bids, eg '£100 downto 15%, and another £100 downto 17% and another £250 downto 20% .. tell me later how it all worked out'. At the end of the day everyone gets the same rate, which simplifies the back end more than somewhat, and encourages people to REALLY put in their 'best and final' bid, instead of f*i*ging around undercutting each other by 0.0001%.
p.s. James - you have mail. 8>.
|
|
arbster
Member of DD Central
Posts: 810
Likes: 426
|
Post by arbster on Sept 12, 2015 20:14:41 GMT
1) We specifically designed the secondary market (Loan Exchange) without premium and discount as despite some well-documented advantages, it does seem to cause confusion for some investors on other platforms. We believe that simplifying the Loan Exchange is key to improving liquidity in the longer term. I may be alone, but I'd be more than happy if you kept the premium/discount capability hidden from "some" or even "most" investors, making it an "expert" capability. Thus, most investors would simply need to make a judgement as to whether the advertised rate met their individual criteria for a particular loan, without needing to care whether it was being sold at a premium or discount. It would, however, enable those with deeper pockets to add liquidity to the LC marketplace by buying and selling loan parts outside of the normal auction process. This is something FC has prematurely dispensed with, in my opinion, rather than considering whether they could achieve their "mass-market" aspirations without sacrificing such a valuable capability. Oh, and +1 for dynamic bidding.
|
|
|
Post by biscuitbri on Sept 12, 2015 20:21:03 GMT
I would also like to see dynamic bidding with perhaps a 3% option band. It would certainly be a hell of a USP for Lending Crowd.
At the moment because of the relatively small amount of loans and lenders we have a chicken/egg situation. There needs to be a leap of faith on the part of both LC and current and prospective borrowers, because without an increase in lender volume the auction would still be dependant on staff input to fill up the loan with the control that that can bring.
I am, like others, certain that if introduced it could be a real deal changer for LC and I for one will back them and try to persuade as many of those poor refugees fleeing the FC war zone looking for a safer haven, to come and join us, if not in the promised land at least somewhere our opinions are listened to and answered by an actual human being
|
|
|
Post by loanstar on Sept 13, 2015 20:27:51 GMT
I see that the current "New Summer Lenders" offer is due to close at the end of the month (Sept 2015). Will a new cash back offer for new investors be made for the winter? I shall be looking to open an account in early October.
|
|
|
Post by biscuitbri on Sept 14, 2015 7:33:15 GMT
I 'll second that. Perhaps it could be the Autumn Refugee Offer and run to Christmas. I joined a couple of weeks ago under the name nanniena and am on the way to my first £1000. The dilemma is, because of the relatively low volume of loans, do I bid on anything and everything just to get £100 and take unnecessary risks due to lack of diversification.
|
|
|
Post by lendingcrowd on Sept 14, 2015 17:16:31 GMT
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your posts and feedback on the site.
Dynamic bidding is certainly something we'll look at implementing - although this isn't a feature we'd be able to introduce immediately as we would have to work out how it would fit in to the current Loan Auctions, and how it would be developed around other features we're working on, we'll definitely look into it.
As Stuart mentioned in his earlier post, a premium/discount on the Loan Exchange was something we felt was overly complicated which could reduce liquidity in the long run. If there is significant demand for this then we would have a look at how it might work with our aggregated Loan Exchange, but we are not currently planning to introduce this in the short term.
Regarding the summer bonus offer, this will still close at the end of September but we're considering other offers that we may introduce in the Autumn.
All your comments help us plan how we will add to the existing site, so please keep letting us know what you think!
|
|
|
Post by biscuitbri on Sept 16, 2015 8:45:02 GMT
Since elljay's reply in May to jamesduffin's enquiry as to the possibility of a board for Lending Crowd, has demand increased enough, particularly since the Flatulent Camel decided to wander off into the desert and slowly die?
|
|
bjorn
Posts: 102
Likes: 39
|
Post by bjorn on Sept 16, 2015 16:41:52 GMT
Since elljay's reply in May to jamesduffin's enquiry as to the possibility of a board for Lending Crowd, has demand increased enough, particularly since the Flatulent Camel decided to wander off into the desert and slowly die? I'd be keen.
|
|
|
Post by bonfemme on Sept 18, 2015 9:05:06 GMT
Me too. Very impressed with the platform. Within a day or two of opening an account, they made contact to see if I had any questions or needed any help. I hope they can benefit from FCs change of direction.
|
|
|
Post by nanniema on Sept 21, 2015 19:22:08 GMT
Hi everyone, Thanks for your posts and feedback on the site. Dynamic bidding is certainly something we'll look at implementing - although this isn't a feature we'd be able to introduce immediately as we would have to work out how it would fit in to the current Loan Auctions, and how it would be developed around other features we're working on, we'll definitely look into it. As Stuart mentioned in his earlier post, a premium/discount on the Loan Exchange was something we felt was overly complicated which could reduce liquidity in the long run. If there is significant demand for this then we would have a look at how it might work with our aggregated Loan Exchange, but we are not currently planning to introduce this in the short term. Regarding the summer bonus offer, this will still close at the end of September but we're considering other offers that we may introduce in the Autumn. All your comments help us plan how we will add to the existing site, so please keep letting us know what you think!
|
|
|
Post by nanniema on Sept 21, 2015 19:50:51 GMT
A couple of questions/comments on the Loan exchange.
1) With the aggregated system it is necessary to go backwards and forwards to find the best return - not necessarily best for the higher bid. EG. Not too sure whether we can name borrower so will just say they are merchants who sell coffee.
£20 6.1% These figures were taken last night so have probably changed since. I realise that .3% is no great 30 7.5% shakes and probably not worth for example buying 3 parts at £30 instead of 1 at £90, but I do it. 40 7.5% 50 7.22% ? 60 7.5% 70 7.3% 80 7.5% 90 7.19% 100 7.22%
2) More concerning is when selling on the Loan Exchange it seems you are selling blind. You know for example the price you are asking but I cannot see any way to know where you are in relation to other sellers or their asking price. I have placed a small loan part on the loan exchange along with £39,000 worth of other parts and could possibly be last in the queue. I know I should have checked this out first but would appreciate any tips on whether there is a way to get this info.
Thanks
|
|
|
Post by nanniema on Sept 21, 2015 20:54:52 GMT
Please ignore second part of my previous post. Just checked my statement and the part was sold the same day.
If anyone sees me wandering aimlessly round the forum talking rubbish, could they please contact matron who will send someone to collect me,
|
|
bjorn
Posts: 102
Likes: 39
|
Post by bjorn on Sept 22, 2015 10:30:56 GMT
I haven't quite go my head round how the SM on LC works either. I called them a week ago to chat about it (and btw they're really friendly and willing to help) but what I thought I understood from that conversation seems to be at odds with reports here. Following the converstation, how I thought it worked was: - All parts listed for sale on the SM were bundled up and listed at a rate (the "indicative rate") that was the average of everything that people had bought the parts for in the first place. They used to let people list individually at the price they bought at, but have changed to the aggregated system. - I asked why they made the change and they said "to increase liquidity". This is almost certainly with a view to increasing liquidity for the in-house/underwriting bidder who is bidding at lower rates. Under the old system they'd always be near the back of the queue, whereas now they're on an equal footing for exit through the SM as sellers who hold parts at higher rates. The downside to this is that if you've bought a part at a high rate at auction, there's no liquidity benefit if you want to sell it on. In fact, for people in that category liquidity has decreased compared to the old system where they'd obviously be able to sell first. - I asked how the order of selling works ... is it FIFO? They said that it's pro rata. That seemed to at least be consistent with the aggregated approach: if you're going to bundle all the parts up to make one big pot at an average rate, then anything sold paying off each seller pro rata according to the % they had listed of the pot seems to make sense. But, I must have misunderstood a few things ... A couple of questions/comments on the Loan exchange. 1) With the aggregated system it is necessary to go backwards and forwards to find the best return - not necessarily best for the higher bid. EG. Not too sure whether we can name borrower so will just say they are merchants who sell coffee. £20 6.1% These figures were taken last night so have probably changed since. I realise that .3% is no great 30 7.5% shakes and probably not worth for example buying 3 parts at £30 instead of 1 at £90, but I do it. 40 7.5% 50 7.22% ? 60 7.5% 70 7.3% 80 7.5% 90 7.19% 100 7.22% Presumably you're doing this by typing in different amounts you'd like to invest and clicking to "check availability" for each different amount to see what rate it offers? The fact that there are different rates for buying different sizes of parts suggests rates offered can't just be a simple rolled-up average of everything available. But it also can't be just based on the rates attached to parts of the size that you want to buy. Not least because you can only buy parts in multiples of £20 at auction so there can be no such thing as someone selling a £30 or £50 part. There must be some level of offering fractional or multiple parts and using some sort of averaged rate for those part sizes. And in order for the in-house/underwriting bidder to have any liquidity (which is clearly part of what they're aiming to achieve) they must be able to sell fractional parts as well, since they're typically bidding in £5 or £10k chunks. This suggests that my understanding of a pro rata sale arrangement isn't right either. If that had been the case you'd have expected to sell a very small fraction of your part each time someone bought something. But the fact the whole part was sold on the same day suggests that somehow you went to the front of the queue and most of the rest of the £39k (I assume it's the "fish" loan that you sold?) is still sitting there for sale. That doesn't seem to make any sense to me - it would work against the desire to provide liquidity for investors on an equal footing. Perhaps lendingcrowd could help us out here with a proper explanation of how the SM works?
|
|
|
Post by nanniema on Sept 22, 2015 12:11:51 GMT
I'm sorry, I've checked again.
I put up a £40 part for sale - Part of that was sold for £19.54 with a 4p fee. The remaining part is now for sale for £20.46 of which I will receive £19.98.
I don't know whether this clarifies or confuses things.
|
|
bjorn
Posts: 102
Likes: 39
|
Post by bjorn on Sept 22, 2015 12:46:05 GMT
I'm sorry, I've checked again. I put up a £40 part for sale - Part of that was sold for £19.54 with a 4p fee. The remaining part is now for sale for £20.46 of which I will receive £19.98. I don't know whether this clarifies or confuses things. Probably confuses things, to be honest! (Obviously not your fault!) On the one hand, that's closer to what I'd expect, that someone buying from the SM generates a fractional sale of whatever you had listed. But it's certainly not pro rata if you had £40 out of £39k up for sale. It seems to look more like you went to the front of the queue for selling on the SM (on what basis, I wonder?) and someone bought a £20 part and between accounting for fees, accrued interest and so on, you've been left with the situation you describe. I really can't see how those numbers work out like that though. lendingcrowd - would love to know how these numbers work out like this?
|
|