A peer-to-peer lender has announced a $15,000 increase in its personal loan limit to accommodate borrower demand.
Wisr, formerly known as DirectMoney, has bumped up its personal loan limit from $35,000 to $50,000, which it said is supported by “increased borrower demand, strong institutional lender support and continued improvement to loan evaluation”.
Loans of up to $50,000 are available on three-year or five-year terms, with a rate of 9.39 per cent per annum (based on a $30,000 unsecured loan with a five-year term) for borrowers with strong credit ratings, as well as no early repayment or exit fees.
Wisr said that it has experienced a period of strong personal lending growth, claiming that originated loans grew by 42 per cent in Q3 FY2018, compared to the previous quarter, and marked the largest quarter in loan originations for the publicly listed marketplace lender since its inception in 2014.
The quarter-on-quarter growth rate in October–December was 79 per cent, and in July–September it was 20 per cent.
Commenting on the recent growth, Wisr CEO Anthony Nantes said: “We have spent the past 12 months refocusing, rebranding and restructuring the business for long-term growth. The rapid increase in our loan origination volumes is a testament to the work done by the team to relaunch the company.
“Combined with the significant increase in the effectiveness of our algorithms to auto-process more enquiries, and the impact of our rebrand, the company now has an amazing foundation from which to grow over the coming years.”
Earlier this month, the P2P lender announced that Bendigo and Adelaide Bank had agreed to provide a $25 million facility to fund existing and future loans.
Mr Nantes said that the agreement with the regional bank “further diversifies [Wisr’s] funding mix and enhances the ability to support [its] immediate and long-term growth trajectory as opportunities to expand [its] partnership emerge”.
The lender also recently revealed that it had appointed Mathew Lu, a former executive manager of retail and credit cards at the Commonwealth Bank, to the role of chief operating officer.
In his new role, Mr Lu’s focus will be on the “execution of innovation” through technology and managing end-to-end customer processes.