RateSetter loan book hits £2bn milestone

RATESETTER is the last of the “big three” platforms to have passed the £2bn loans milestone.

Zopa and Funding Circle hit £2bn of cumulative lending in January and February of this year respectively and RateSetter’s total loan book passed that amount this morning.

The peer-to-peer lender has lent £380m this year to date, having channelled £664m to consumers and businesses in 2016.

Its cumulative loan book has grown from £11.8m in 2011, £32.7m in 2012, £103m in 2013, £291m in 2014 and £515m in 2015.

The estimated annual returns on the loans for investors are at 3.67 per cent so far this year, close to the 4.26 per cent lenders received through the whole of 2016.

Broken down by account, lenders can currently receive 3.1 per cent in the rolling account, 3.6 per cent for one year and 5.9 per cent for five years.

The platform, which is still awaiting the outcome of its application for full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority, has provided more than 370,000 loans funded by over 55,000 investors.

Read more: FCA approval is no longer a three-horse race

RateSetter has had a busy few months, raising £13m from City investors and hiring asset management veteran Paul Manduca as its new chairman. Founder Rhydian Lewis received an OBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list last month.