Estonian peer-to-peer lending platform Bondora hits €1 billion worth of loan applications processed

Estonian P2P lending platform Bondora has reached a new milestone today by processing €1 billion worth of loan applications on its site.

Of these applications, the Tallinn-based startup has approved more than €150 million worth and issued more than €52 million. The company is now the third largest consumer lender in Estonia behind two banks, said CEO Pärtel Tomberg.

“Our next major milestone is going to be getting from a billion euro loan applications processed to a billion loans issued.” The startup has borrowers based in Estonia, Finland, Spain and Slovakia with lenders in every European country as well as countries globally like the US, Brazil, and Japan. Purposes of the loans issued are quite broad from loan consolidation to redecorating to property or transport.

“What are looking for in Bondora is more convenience than when it comes to traditional banks,” said Tomberg, pointing out that in some cases customers may be able to apply for loans online but still need to go to a branch.

“We’re seeing especially after the crisis, banks in Europe are still struggling to get to grips with all the regulatory changes that have impacted commercial banking. There has been much less effort to improve the services for consumers or retail customers,” he said.

“There’s been zero to none innovation when it comes to personal loans, credit cards, or any other type of credit product. The changes in regulation make it very difficult today for banks to continue investing in the retail products. That’s why you’re see a lot of upstarts in the fintech sector.”

Bondora raised $5 million in a Series A funding round from Valinor Management last year. Tomberg said the startup is not currently seeking any further capital but it will likely be necessary in the future.

“It’s clear that to really fulfil our vision and become active in every country in Europe with a loan product then we will need to raise capital at some stage to really accelerate our growth but that’s not top of our agenda right now.”