SocietyOne says it has today become Australia’s first and only marketplace lender to reach $500 million in loan originations across its personal loan, agri lending and marketplace business, and is now setting its sights on reaching $1 billion by the end of calendar year 2019.
The milestone follows a record August and the recent appointment of ex-Westpac and Citibank exec, Mark Jones, to the top job of CEO.
“We’re delighted to have reached this significant milestone as we deliver an even better deal for our borrowers and investor funders,” said Mr. Jones.
“We’ve been growing steadily over the past 12 months while we continued to transform our business and build new capabilities for our customers. As a result, we’re now seeing real momentum in the business that we expect to continue, and which should see us achieve breakeven by the end of March 2019 and reach $1 billion in loan originations by the end of 2019.”
We had a record August month for personal lending with $14 million in originations, up 46% on August 2017, and well above the monthly average for the past 12 months. September is now also shaping up to be another record month, with volumes expected to further increase into the fourth quarter of the calendar year.
“The seasonal increase in consumer credit heading into the festive season will combine with the rollout and expansion of a number of new initiatives, including continued expansion of our broker distribution offering, the launch of our new brand campaign, and the release of the first phase of our new technology platform,” continued Mr. Jones.
“We’ve also launched our new “When it happens” brand campaign this past weekend, bolstered by support from our shareholders. The campaign is an honest reflection of the way that even joyful moments can sometimes present financial stress to otherwise financially-fit people, as a result of unexpected costs.
“‘It’ can happen to any of us, but there’s no need to add extra stress by racking up high-interest credit card debt when a low rate personal loan from SocietyOne is often a far better solution.
“Looking ahead, the impending introduction of comprehensive credit reporting and open banking, ASIC’s proposed regulatory changes to credit cards, a robust economic backdrop, and a push for a better deal following the royal commission into banking all bode well for a highly prosperous 2019,” concluded Mr. Jones.
