German fintech lender auxmoney hit profitability in 2017

The marketplace lender is the biggest in Continental Europe by lending volume.

Auxmoney’s results for 2017 point to both continued growth and profitability for the marketplace lender.

Its origination volumes rose by 75 per cent during the course of the year, with over 40,000 loans and €316 million funded. Auxmoney has now disbursed more than 100,000 loans in its history, with a cumulative funding total of around €700m.

Perhaps spurring on the company’s growth is an interesting new source of origination: the digital bank N26, with which auxmoney struck a partnership in July 2017. Through the partnership, N26 hoped to expand the range of loan products on offer to its customers, which at the time numbered around 300,000.

In addition to growing its loan volumes, auxmoney was able to hit profitability for the first time in the second half of 2017. While a few examples exist, it certainly remains a rare thing to find a significantly-sized marketplace lender turning a profit. To find one that is doing so while continuing to grow rapidly is rarer still.

“Strong growth and profitability do not have to contradict each other. Auxmoney is one of the first fintechs to be profitable, thus playing a pioneering role in our industry,” said Raffael Johnen, CEO of auxmoney.

Johnen pointed to consistent customer orientation and an ever-expanding product range as key drivers of the platform’s growth.

That growth has been fuelled by both individual and institutional investment, with the average investment sum per private investor rising by around 10 per cent year-on-year from €3,850 to c. €4,300 in 2017.