Brokers help drive surge in Plenti’s lending

The group recorded its highest loan originations, at $1.1 billion, up 134 per cent year-on-year.

Plenti had pointed to growth in market share across both the direct and broker channels.

“Growth was especially strong in borrowers introduced by loan brokers, driven by the speed and ease of Plenti’s offering to these partners,” the lender’s full-year report stated.

Plenti’s growth had been strongest in its automotive finance segment, where originations had rocketed up by 177 per cent, up to $639 million. The division’s loan portfolio ended the year on a total of $745 million.

Brokers had made a significant contribution, with a 153 per cent surge in loan originations from the channel.

Personal lending also saw significant growth, with originations up by 100 per cent to $365 million and its loans book ending FY22 at $413 million. The lender has estimated that it has penetrated 3 per cent of the personal loans market.

Plenti’s full-year report has cited a number of reasons for the jump in personal loans, including “increased investment in digital advertising in 2022 and strong execution by [the] personal lending broker sales team”.

Broker-originated loans for Plenti’s personal finance segment had more than doubled, surging by 173 per cent year-on-year.

The lender managed to gain more active brokers for its personal lending, up by 30 per cent.

Plenti now has 7,125 accredited brokers and 17 aggregators locked in.

Plenti chief executive Daniel Foggo commented the group’s partnership capabilities are a “key strength”.

“Our technology is market-leading and that makes it faster and easier for our broker partners to offer finance to their clients,” Mr Foggo said.

“We’re very focused on our broker network and it’s the strength of these important relationships that has seen us grow market share significantly through the broker channel.”

The lender has signalled that it will focus on growing its broker and direct market share, with Mr Foggo stating the scaling of its personal lending channels is “now a strategic priority”. A new head of digital lending is set to soon join the company.

Meanwhile originations under the renewable energy vertical grew to $98 million, 72 per cent above the prior year. The segment had $142 million in its book at the end of the year.

Plenti also launched its commercial automotive loan product during FY22, which it believes will double the size of its car loan target market.

Already, the commercial lending segment has contributed $44.7 million in new loans.

The larger loan portfolio generated record interest revenue at $87.3 million for the year, 72 per cent more year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Plenti’s cash net profit after tax (NPAT) came to $500,000 for FY22, despite it generating a $2.7 million NPAT during the second half.

However, it meant that the lender had made profit for the first time.

As the market anticipated a growing cash rate, Plenti had seen rises in funding costs for new loan originations during the latter part of FY22, but the lender had mitigated the rises through increasing borrower rates.

It expects prices to continue rising over the coming months, as the market adjusts to higher funding costs.

“Achieving positive cash NPAT is a major milestone for Plenti and a testament to the strength of our technology-led business model and talented team,” Mr Foggo said.

“Underpinning this is a relentless focus on delivering exceptional experiences and growth initiatives. With our diverse funding options, continually improving operational efficiencies as we scale and strong risk management track record, we are well placed to continue delivering profitable growth.”

It is also still trekking towards its loan book target of $5 billion by 2025.

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