The 2018 Year in Review

2018 has been a transformative year for Plenti^{^}. We’ve achieved and surpassed important milestones, launched fantastic new product features and signed significant new partnerships, all of which have been recognised through the multitude of awards we’ve received.

These achievements reflect more than just a successful year, they also represent progress towards achieving our core mission: to help everyday Australians to do better, together. Looking back at a great 2018 for Plenti, our customers and our partners, we’ve compiled a list of our top achievements to share with you.

Loans and customer growth

The value of loans funded through our RateSetter Lending Platform (RLP) is a key metric for the business. In 2018 this was up by almost 50% from 2017, passing significant milestones at $250 million, $300 million and $350 million in aggregate loans funded since launch.

This growth reflects the significant number of consumers loans being funded and investors we’ve helped empower financially in 2018. Borrowers doubled from 13,000 to over 27,000 while registered investors increased by 44% to over 13,000. With more borrowers and investors than any other marketplace lending platform, Plenti is now firmly positioned as Australia’s leading consumer lender.    

Delivering value for our investors

In 2018 we paid our investors over $11 million in interest and passed $20 million in total interest paid to our investors since inception. This has been achieved without any investor losing a single cent of capital or interest, thanks to our responsible approach to loan underwriting and the protection offered by the market-leading Provision Fund.

The Provision Fund currently holds over $11.5 million in cash, a considerable increase on the $7.1m it held in December 2017. This represents over 6.0% of outstanding RateSetter Lending Platform loans, and 162% coverage against expected bad debt.

In 2018 we launched innovative new product features for our investors, to help make the RateSetter Lending Platform an even more compelling investment option. Most notably, the recent launch of Early Access Transfer gives investors more flexibility and the peace of mind to invest in our longer-term, higher interest yielding markets, with the ability to request an early exit.

Five stars

Our ongoing commitment to provide borrowers with low rates and a fast, seamless, experience continued to be a key priority in 2018. We were delighted to have been awarded Canstar’s coveted 5 Star Award for Outstanding Value, for the fourth year running, as well as the ProductReview’s award for the Best Personal Loan.

More important than any of our awards are the overwhelming number of positive customer reviews we’ve received on ProductReview.com.au, with over 1,500 five star reviews from verified borrowers and investors. This establishes Plenti as the highest rated personal loan provider in Australia! We’d love for you to share your Plenti experience too.

Establishing and growing key partnerships

Signing new partnerships and deepening existing relationships has been a key growth driver for Plenti in 2018. In the renewable energy space, an area of credit we particularly like, we were delighted to have signed an 18-month extension with the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), following the successful launch of our $20 million partnership in 2017 to continue to fund the expansion of our green loan offering.

Our partnership with the CEFC has since then taken further steps via a new $100 million commitment, with Plenti being appointed as the finance provider for the CEFC’s funding for the South Australian Home Battery Scheme. This funding agreement is in conjunction with another $100 million deal between Plenti and the Government of South Australia, which establishes Plenti as the exclusive administrator of the scheme’s subsidies.

The stage is set

Our broker channel has experienced 175% growth in the number of loans funded and 250% growth in the value of loans funded in 2018, with the signing of over 2,000 new brokers and aggregators, including Connective, Finsure and Mortgage Choice. By partnering with brokers, we’re able to offer more borrowers access to Plenti's better value finance.

Heading into 2019, the stage is set for Plenti to become the largest manager of consumer credit in Australia. With over 100 employees on board, we have the team, the determination and the ambition in place to achieve great things. At the same time, market changes and technology advances are all coming together to create a unique set of conditions for Plenti to achieve our mission of helping Australians do better, together.