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An online P2P lender has set a target to increase broker originations by 200% in 2019, only six months after launching its third-party channel.
With $240m in outstanding loans as of December 2018, Society One launched its broker channel in June with Outsource Financial and now receives around 100 broker originated loan applications a month.
Broker channel growth is part of a three-point strategy for the New Year revealed by CEO Mark Jones during an interview with Australian Broker.
“In the broker channel we have worked to build the product and experience in partnership with Outsource Financial and their brokers, and really meet their needs to make it easy for them to do business,” said Jones.
“Having worked with Outsource, we would now like to take that to a broader part of the market. We have discussions underway with three or four more aggregators to continue to expand our presence in the segment,” he continued.
Appointed to drive the P2P lender’s “next phase of growth”, Jones took on the role of CEO following the departure of Jason Yetton in July this year.
Reporting “record origination months” from August to November, Jones continued, “It’s a really good time in the marketplace for us to be doing this.
“Brokers are finding it harder to get loans through with a bank so when their customers need money for a shorter period, we are very easy to deal with.”
Part of the growth is expected to be driven by ASIC’s new rules regarding credit card serviceability, as brokers are increasingly called on to consolidate client debts as part of the home loan process.
“The changes to credit cards could really encourage more refinancing but also I think one outcome it is heading towards is using credit cards for transactions and using personal loans for when you want to revolve your balance,” Jones said.
“About half the business we see is people consolidating existing debt. People are saying I have a card in my wallet, I’ve spent up and I’m paying a 20% interest rate, but I can get that cheaper, for example with Society One, and have a payment plan,” he added.
Backed by such high-profile business personalities as Kerry Stokes, Lachlan Murdoch and James Packer, Society One launched in 2012 and in September 2018, achieved $500m in total lending since inception.
A full analysis of ASIC’s new credit card regulations will be published in Australian Broker in the New Year
