Car sales boosts lending at Plenti
Fintech lending platform Plenti announced it achieved record loan originations in the quarter.
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An uptick in spending over the holiday period is boosting the results of junior buy now, pay later and lending companies, which are recording record quarterly results.
On Tuesday, fintech lending platform Plenti announced it achieved record loan originations in the quarter to December 31, 2020, lending $130.9m, up 22 per cent on the prior quarter.
It brings the company’s total loan portfolio to $508m, 46 per cent larger than it was in the prior corresponding period.
Plenti said the growth was powered by automotive lending, up 24 per cent on the previous quarter as November new car sales marked the first instance of monthly year-on-year growth for two and a half years.
Renewable energy lending was up 19 per cent on the previous comparable period, while personal loans rebounded 31 per cent from the prior quarter but remained 8 per cent lower than the previous year.
During the quarter, loan deferrals reverted to pre-COVID-19 levels at 0.44 per cent of the total portfolio, down from 0.78 per cent on September 30.
Buy now, pay later company Sezzle also announced record results for merchant sales and the number of active customers and businesses using the platform in the fourth quarter.
In a release to the ASX, the company, which operates in the US and Canada, said merchant sales increased 205.4 per cent compared to the previous corresponding period in the 2019 financial year, reaching $US320.8m ($420m).
Active consumers lifted 143.9 per cent to 2.2 million and active merchants increased 143.9 per cent to 26,690.
Analysts at RBC capital insights noted that Sezzle’s merchant sales result was 12 per cent above their forecasts due to “strong customer growth and uplift in spend per customer” and a strong customer repeat rate.
“Sezzle remains well positioned for a healthy FY21, further supported by new products launches, diversification in the merchant mix and geographical expansion while its customer repeat rates support its loss rates,” the analysts wrote.
Originally published as Car sales boosts lending at Plenti
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