Plenti reports record loan originations

Listed lender Plenti (formerly known as RateSetter) has provided a trading update for the December quarter – outlining that it has recorded its sixth month of record originations.

According to a trading update, in the final three months of the calendar year, the group originated $130 million in loans, 58 per cent above the prior corresponding period and 22 per cent above the prior quarter.  

The lender’s total loan portfolio increased to $508 million (as at 31 December 2020), having grown by 46 per cent since 31 December 2019.

According to the group, it has now seen six consecutive months of record loan originations.

The consumer lender’s growth has reportedly been led by automotive lending, which was up 273 per cent on the prior comparative period and 24 per cent up on the prior quarter.

During the final quarter of the calendar year, the lender also upsized its secured automotive loan warehouse facility to $275 million from $150 million. 

The lender also attributed its growth to its renewable energy loans, which were found to be up 19 per cent on the prior comparative period. There had been a “solid recovery” in Victorian volumes following the easing of lockdown restrictions, the lender noted.

Plenti also recently established a new $100-million warehouse funding facility to support growth in renewable energy and personal loan originations.

However, the update outlined that its personal loans were still in recovery mode due to “COVID-19-induced lows”. While these originations were up 31 per cent on the prior quarter, they were 8 per cent down on the prior corresponding period.

Touching on its COVID-19 loan deferrals, the lender notes that they had reverted to pre-COVID-19 levels, representing 0.44 per cent of the loan portfolio at 31 December, down from 0.78 per cent reported at 30 September.

Plenti CEO Daniel Foggo commented: “We are successfully achieving scale in the large markets we address, while lowering our cost of funding through the expansion of our warehouse facilities.

“With our strong capital position, leading technology, market-leading credit and growing momentum across each part of our business, the outlook for the fourth quarter and rest of 2021 is very positive.” 

[Related: Plenti sets up $100m green warehouse facility]