European P2P lending market set to grow this summer
Following a Covid-19-related drop in funding volumes in March and April, European peer-to-peer platform growth is expected to resume this summer.
According to analysts at Robo.cash, when the pandemic first hit, European P2P investors doubted whether borrowers will be able to pay out their debts.
Read more: Most Robo.cash investors see P2P loans as most profitable asset
These doubts were reflected in decreasing volumes of funding on European P2P lending platforms. Based on statistics from p2p-banking.com, in March, investors reduced their funds by 38.5 per cent, and in April these funds were reduced by another 74.5 per cent compared to the previous month.
Meanwhile, only 25 per cent of platforms increased financing volumes during these two months.
Read more: Coronavirus has not affected portfolios of P2P investors
However, the future looks bright. In May, the share of platforms which increased volumes of funded loans grew to 43.2 per cent and the total financing amount on European platforms increased by 33.6 per cent last month compared to April.
Similarly, data from Google Trends analytics shows that the relative popularity of P2P lending investments across the world fell in March and April but started rising again in May.
Read more: Most European P2P investors prefer consumer loans
“March and April were challenging months for the segment,” said Sergey Sedov, chief executive of Robocash Group.
“However, this period showed investors which platforms could keep their positions and turned out to be the most viable.
“Obviously, they managed to regain investors’ trust.
“We have also noticed improvements on our P2P lending platform Robo.cash, with a number of new investors and funding volumes returning to the pre-crisis levels.
“We believe that this trend will continue in the next months facilitated by the high demand for online loans, as well as the general attractiveness and profitability of the sector.”
Read more: Half of P2P investors check platform business model before lending
