rebuildingsociety.com

Good to see someone from rebuildingsociety on the forum.

Just wondering what other lenders' opinions are of them?

They still seem to have an imbalance of borrowers over lenders, meaning that auctions close at what seem to me to be high rates (13-20%). They haven't had a load of deals but enough to have something of a track record - perhaps comparable to Funding Knight? But the loans on FK usually close at about 10-11%, so I'm wondering on why the rates are so much higher on rebuildingsociety.

My thoughts about them (having invested, mainly in deals with property security such as charges on residential property and paying 14-17%):

-Very diverse borrowers, some of them seem highly risky, others quite solid.

-Usually not very detailed information about the borrowers, I sometimes find it hard to get a good picture of the business

-They haven't done a great job of convincing people that they can be trusted in all the background things that a platform is responsible for, eg due diligence, chasing and making recoveries if a loan goes bad. This may just be insufficient communication - when I've had to contact them myself, they've seemed on the ball.

Example of why I'm asking - there's a deal currently live, L** S** Ltd, data centre company, looks likely to close at 15-17%. 5 year repayment, 150k, but they've got an underwriting-type commitment from someone to bid 100k once it gets to 50k. Responses in the Q&A look credible to me (I think the borrower did a live web Q&A session on an earlier loan, which is being refinanced/expanded with this one). Seemingly strong asset position. I haven't really got a view on the quality of this loan but it seems to me worth a look and might not offer such a high interest rate if it were listed elsewhere.

Are the high rates mainly because people are concerned that recoveries on defaults will be low, due to questionable wording in the T&Cs? If so, Nick, would you like to comment? Any other thoughts from anyone?

Hi Ben & Mark,

Thanks for the replies.

Firstly, Ben, what information about the borrower would you like to see on the platform? If it can be done we'll look into suggestions. It's a little difficult to prove ourselves on the recoveries side yet (luckily for us) as we've got a 100% performing book, but we will approach it in the same way we do everything else - proactively and with the best interests of our lenders at heart.

We're employing a number of marketing strategies to boost lender numbers, as that is where we need to scale up. What we have noticed is a much smaller 'trust' period - so the time between someone registering and going on to be an active lender, so we're encouraged by this. For now, lenders are enjoying good rates of interest and turning a quick profit on the secondary market.

I couldn't comment on whether people view us in that light, certainly it's not something that has cropped up often when we have conducted market research among lenders. It's sensible for people to see how we get on before committing larger sums (a more typical response), what I would say is that our track record has stayed strong and we've got some innovations coming that will help us differentiate from the competition.

The loan you refer to is with us because the borrower has had a good experience to date. We've found this to be a theme and several other borrowers have mentioned refinancing for a larger loan. I think the role of individual relationships will be a determining factor for growing platforms like ours. If you want to speak to the borrower privately, please let me know and I can arrange that.

Mark, we're looking again at the Terms and Conditions, with regulation in mind. We want to make the process fair for all, while protecting our own position as far as we can. 

The faff you refer to was a pain for us too - we were acting on the advice of lawyers! It was unusual in the sense that the borrower insisted on transferring the repayments to his new company, while maintaining the personal guarantee, which we were happy to agree to as we felt it was in everyone's best interests. As you point out, all repayments have been made since, so we're happy with that situation as it stands.

The incentives need to be applied retrospectively to recently concluded auctions. There was some final testing to the programme which has delayed the payment so far... stick with us! It's all on record and we'll make sure you don't miss out.

Best,

Nick

Hi Nick
I'd like an email when a new listing is posted (or perhaps a weekly email with a summary)

and as regards the site, I'd definitely like to be forwarded to the place I wanted to go to after logging in.  (what I mean is that I get an email about some reply on the Q&A, I click on the link therein, I have to log in, and now I'm on the home page, but I want to be on the Q&A page I first clicked on, and it takes a bit of effort to get there

when I am on the overview page, and I press more information, then I lose sight of the Files if any (I'm taken to the profile tab without being told that's what's happened)

Outside that, well TC's info packs are way beyond yours, I don't understand the ABC rating and don't think I agree with the ratings, and the debentures and PGs are not sufficiently explained for me.  I therefore have far more in TC and Assetz than I put your way.

I don't know what this "iffy" clause in your T&Cs is, I better look again.

I've had great email support from you, thanks

Steve

I have not signed up, and have no immediate plans to do so.  As I see it the Market Leading Business Lending P2P is 100 times larger, and loans go out at much lower rates. Any business paying 15%+ for loans must be pretty desperate (and rejected elsewhere). Without significant growth, and loan opportunities, you may have a tough time to convince new lenders. However, simply because you are not a Bank I hope you do well, and I will be able to consider lending in the future.

I thought the issue was that in the case of a default, the lender had to pay the costs of attempting to recover outstanding monies.

Is it possible that some users have chosen to use their email as their username?