Earlier this week, fintech firm Even Financial announced it increased loan originations by 205% quarter over quarter since the beginning of 2016 and surpassed $1.5 billion in loan requests. The company has experienced solid growth since it was founded in 2014.
Even Financial is aiming to become an important supply channel for online lenders in search of borrowers. The company claims to be the first and only dedicated supply-side platform for both online financial products and services. Even has established a set of well-known online finance partners, such as Prosper, Ascend, and Upstart, providing an integrated real-time API for search, comparison, and loan recommendations.
Following Even Financial’s latest milestone news, CEO Phill Rosen shared details about the platform’s development and the P2P industry with Crowdfund Insider.
Crowdfund Insider: What borrower categories are you seeing the most interest on EVEN?
Rosen: Aside from debt consolidation which is the top purpose across the industry, we see high demand in weddings, auto and home improvement
Crowdfund Insider: Which online lending platforms are the most popular?
Rosen: Judging by take rate, Avant is the most popular. Lending Club and Ascend also have very high take rates.
Crowdfund Insider: What is the average size loan requested?
Rosen: Across all purposes, $10,551.00
Crowdfund Insider: Has demand increased during the year? Or has it declined?
Rosen: We have definitely seen a significant uptick since September, thought it’s quite possible this is seasonal.
Crowdfund Insider: Are you concerned about possible regulatory changes?
Rosen: So far regulatory changes (plus Google policies) have been for the better as they have put new constraints on payday. Payday was throwing pricing out of whack as it set marketer pricing at unreasonably high levels, making personal loans less attractive for them as a product. With payday become increasingly unviable, personal loans have become comparatively more attractive for marketers. I think the jury is still out on what impact the reform of federal banking regulations will have on the industry in the coming years. It could go either way.
Crowdfund Insider: Any predictions for 2017?
Rosen: I think we will see some consolidation in the space, plus a little more of a shakeout amongst the weaker players, followed by very strong growth going forward.