The Index is a clear representation of the rapid development of market place finance in Europe. The industry grew volumes by €243,225,735 in 2014, more than doubling its size with growth of 104% over the course of the year. Whilst not quite matching the 141% growth displayed by the UK last year, this is still an impressive performance. The cumulative amount lent stands at €526,926,731 since the inception of continental Europe’s industry in 2007. In a similar manner to the UK volume index, the European volume index and the platforms that make up the index can be viewed in interactive and graphical form at www.altfidata.com.
Just like the UK index, the European index seeks to capture the most significant volumes matched in the industry without seeking to capture every last € lent. The index therefore has a minimum volume requirement. To be eligible each platform needs to have lent an amount equivalent to 0.1% of the total index since inception. At present this hurdle stands at just over €526,000. This level, and eligible constituents, will be reviewed on a monthly basis. On top of that the index has a transparency requirement for both practical and philosophical reasons. From a practical perspective, i.e. to ensure daily updates and a complete history, constituents must be prepared to disclose daily volume data. On top of this, from a philosophical perspective, the index seeks to represent the transparency that the industry is so proud of.
The Index is made up of 14 constituents from 9 different countries across Europe, all of whom satisfy the volume and transparency criteria. In 2014 the leading European Platform by volume was Pret D’Union with a 30.82% market share with nearly €75 million lent over the course of the year. Charles Egly, Chairman and Co-Founder commented “At Pret D’Union we are delighted to publish all of our volume information to the public as transparency is a key distinguishing feature of this sector versus traditional banks.” He continued, “Pret D’Union is very happy to be a part of this index”.
Sam Griffiths, MD of AltFi Data explained: “Peer to peer lending in Europe is reaching a tipping point, beginning to achieve real scale, AltFi Data is excited to be able to help illustrate the story.”
Jean-Benoit Gambet, Partner at Shepherd Capital, a leading peer to peer investor commented: “We are very happy to see AltFi Data produce yet another informative and useful resource for the peer to peer industry. This Index highlights the rapid growth and opportunity that currently exists in European peer to peer lending. It will also help investors identifying best platforms in Europe.”
