RateSetter


RateSetter is a British peer-to-peer lending company based in Bishopsgate, London. The company is known for having introduced into peer-to-peer lending the concept of a "provision fund" – an internal fund which aims to help lenders manage the risk of borrower default, and is generated by borrowers' payment of a "credit rate" fee based on their credit profile. Launched in October 2010, by June 2018 the company had matched more than £2.5bn in loans and had over 500,000 investors and borrowers. As of June 2018, RateSetter claims that none of its individual investors have ever lost money.

History

RateSetter's holding company, Retail Money Market Ltd, was incorporated in October 2009 by Rhydian Lewis, an investment banker from Lazard, and Peter Behrens, a lawyer turned banker formerly of Royal Bank of Scotland. The company was privately funded from the start by angel investors, and raised £13m in a 2017 funding round which took the total amount raised to over £40m.
In July 2014, it was announced that the British Business Bank would begin lending through RateSetter to support individuals, sole traders or partnerships borrowing for business purposes.
On 7 December 2015, RateSetter moved from Southwark to new offices in Bishopsgate, London.
In July 2017, Paul Manduca became Chairman of RateSetter. He is also Chairman of Prudential plc.

RateSetter Australia

RateSetter commenced operations in Australia in November 2014. The Australian branch, with the office located in Sydney, is managed and majority-owned locally, and was the first peer-to-peer lending platform in the country open to retail customers.
In December 2017, it was announced that over AU$200m had been lent via the platform.

Products

Borrowers can apply for a loan for between 6 and 60 months. The company has strict lending criteria, accepting between 12 and 15 per cent of borrower applications.