Lendify set to challenge Swedish banks with a new peer-to-peer lending service
Lendify claims to be the first real P2P-lending platform on the Swedish market. With €2 million in new equity funding the company now begins its quest to transform the Swedish loan market.
The concept is called peer-to-peer lending or in short P2P lending. People looking for investments with a good risk/return are put in contact with people looking for loans with good interest rates. Lendify handles the servicing of loans on behalf of the matched borrowers and lenders through its web based plattform. A meticulous and innovative credit scoring model, using traditional and new data sources in a highly structured and analytical manner, is at the core of Lendify. Sweden, a country famous for its early adopters when it comes to the web, has been lagging behind many other countries on the P2P lending scene. But now, Lendify promises to bring the Swedish market up to speed. By using an entirely web based structure an minimising many of the costs that traditional financial institutions (banks and other traditional borrowers) have to bear, Lendify is able to provide great rates for borrowers and attractive returns for investors.
“If you compare the banks ́ loan spreads to the credit risk for personal loans in Sweden, it’s clear that they charge their customers to much, especially on on unsecured consumer loans. Swedes are among the best in the world at repaying their loans and despite high fixed costs and capital requirements the banks ́ profit are larger than ever. We feel that it ́s time for the Swedish lending market to become more transparent and effective with the use of technology” Says Nicholas Sundén-Cullberg, CIO and one of the founders at Lendify.
Following a soft launch in September 2014, borrowers can get loans of between SEK 5000 and SEK 350.000 (€520-€36.000) without a collateral and get an effective interest rate between 5-15%. The interest rate is individually set and aims to give a fair reflection of the borrowers ability to repay the loan.
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