Greetings,
The final month of summer was unusually busy this year for both alternative lending and, of course, the global markets. Thankfully, we’re seeing a healthy rebound this week, though the developments in China have reverberated across the globe. In fixed income markets, we’re seeing ABS spreads reaching to their 2009 wides and the new issuance volume at the 2nd lowest level this year and 4th lowest in the past 20th months.
Back in P2P, with the recent release of Prosper and Lending Club 2Q data, we thought it would be a good time to check in on recent trends of the consumer leaders, publishing a short comparison, available for download here. In our review, we see important trends associated with a maturing market emerging, namely issuance characteristics and performance by grade are converging. Large platforms are shifting towards higher grades, which also tend to have more similarities across originators than lower grades. Overall, we think these trends are positive developments for the market as credit quality of loan originated by the largest platforms is improving as the industry matures.
Finally, we did get a nice little write up in Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Great to be listed among such a great set of companies. Our profile can be found here: A Gallery of Upstarts.
Thank you again for you all your continued support. We will be at ABS East, Sep 16-18, talking about ABS spreads and P2P issuance and many other subjects. We look forward to reconnecting with many of you there.
Sector Update
- CEO Monthly Alternative Lending Market Analysis (FT Partners, Sep. 2015) In depth analysis of marketplace lending with PeerIQ as a highlighted risk management firm focused on alternative lending.
- Marketplace Lending Returns and Stock Market Gyrations (Lend Academy, 8/25/15) Marketplace lending loans in your portfolio allow investors to see consistent diverse returns with low volatility.
- More Investors Turn To P2P Lenders for High Yield (CNBC, 8/28/15) Reconfirming the analysis above, CNBC wrote about P2P and how the recent volatility of the stock market, is getting more investors interested in P2P for higher yields.
- Funding Circle UK Moves To Fixed Rates, Ditches Auction (P2P Banking, 9/1/15). Switching from the auction model that revealed major drawbacks, Funding circle will issue all new loans at fixed interest rates.