Big banks may still dominate the loans business, but they are no longer the only providers. Peer-to-peer platforms persist and evolve. Alternative lenders are growing fast.
In August, Mintos – Europe’s largest marketplace for investing in loans by far – secured investment firm and electronic money institution licences from Latvian regulator, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC).
In the coming months, it will passport these to expand operations across the EU, offering more retail investors exposure to credit extended by 70 non-bank lenders to individuals and SMEs in 34 countries across the world including emerging markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Mintos has funded €7 billion in loans since it was founded in 2015 and claims the 430,000 investors using its platform have earned high average net annual returns in a world of record low rates.
Martins Sulte, co-founder and chief executive of Mintos, tells Euromoney: “It’s not super-descriptive to talk about averages. A loan to a consumer in Indonesia or Uganda is very different from a loan to a UK litigation funder or an SME in Spain or Denmark. And you can have high-risk loans in low-risk countries. But the overall average annual return after bad debts has been between 8% and 10% for the current offering on Mintos.”
Mintos
