For the first time in over two years, Bondora originations topped €20M in one month! This growth is mainly due, once again, to the demand from the growing Finnish market. It has now also taken the lead in origination share, making up 55.1% of all originations made in November.
Country breakdown
Compared to October, originations increased by 12.3%, bringing the total value of loan originations to €20,533,575. Finland now has the highest amount (€11,321,546) and the biggest share of originations (55.1%).
Although Finland took the lead in large numbers, Spain had the highest growth rate, increasing its total originations by a whopping 423.4% to €114,056. This is expected since the Spanish market was relaunched in Q3 and now has the sky as their growth limit.
Estonian originations decreased by a marginal 1.4%, and their share shrank by 12.2% to 44.3%. Spain’s interest rates remained the same, Estonian interest rates dropped by less than 1%, and the average Finnish originations increased by 2.2%. This could be due to the two other loan risk categories (B and C) being relaunched in the Nordic country.
As mentioned above, B- and C-rated originations rejoined the pack in Finland, garnering 59.3% of all Finnish loans. D-rated loans make up the remaining 40.7%. In Estonia, the B-rated category continues to have the most loans. The F-rated loans decreased slightly, and at the other end of the spectrum, AA-rated loans increased in Estonia. And in Spain, only C-rated loans are currently being originated.
Loan amounts
The average loan amount for all originations decreased in November. Estonians originations continued to decrease for the 2nd month in a row, falling further by 9.1% in November. Spanish originations declined by 4.1%, and Finnish loan origination amounts fell by 5.5%.
Loan duration
Loan durations across all three markets increased dramatically in November. Estonian loans increased the most, averaging 15 months longer than in October. Hot on their heels is Finnish loans, averaging 13 months longer in November. Spanish originations averaged 56-month durations—8 months longer than in the previous month.
60-month loans continue to be the overwhelmingly popular loan length for borrowers across all our markets. In Spain, 84.7% of loans were issued within this duration. In Finland, an overwhelming majority of 2,173 loans had 60-month durations. And in Estonia, a total of 1,690 loans were issued with this duration.120-month durations take up 2nd place, with 626 loans issued in Estonia.
Average age
Finnish borrowers averaged the same age as in October—43 years old. In contrast, Estonian and Spanish borrowers are younger in November. The average Estonian is now 37-years of age. Spanish borrowers are significantly younger than previous months, averaging 36 years old.
Income
Last month, the average net income for Estonian borrowers increased dramatically by 92.4%. But in November, it dropped back by 42.5% to €1,826, which is a more familiar average. The average income for Spanish borrowers also decreased, but not nearly as dramatically. They dropped a mere 5.9%. On the other hand, Finnish borrowers earned on average €2,998—a 3.4% increase.
Education
The ratio for borrowers’ education remained more or less the same for Estonia and Finland. But due to the increase in Spanish loans, we’ve seen a huge change there. The overwhelming majority (55%) have a high school education, and 36.7% have a university degree. Only small percentages make up Junior High School and Vocational school. In Finland, most borrowers have a Vocational school qualification (52.8%). And 24.8 of borrowers have a university degree. Estonian-based borrowers tend to have High school (42.1%) and Vocational school (22.9%) qualifications.
Employment
Employment durations for Bondora borrowers were all higher in November, but the ratios remained very similar. There were 2,456 borrowers employed for more than 5 years, accounting for 35% of all Bondora borrowers—the same as in October. Those employed for up to 5 years accounted for 28.8%—0.2% less than in October.
Homeownership status
Contrary to October’s decline, Finnish homeownership increased again in November, with 42.5% of borrowers owning property. Hot on their heels are borrowers who rent, making up 42.1% of all Finnish borrowers. We see a similar trend in Estonia as with Finland, with most borrowers being homeowners (43.3%). Meanwhile, Spanish borrowers tend to be tenants, with 43.3% falling in this category.
Verification status
November is the 3rd month that Spain and Finland maintained a 100% verification rate for their investors. Estonia’s verification rate has increased significantly, up from 94.8% to 99.2%. This brings the total verification rate to 99.6%—up from 97.5%.
Conclusion
Our 2nd highest loan origination month in history is no small feat and an exciting stepping-stone to more growth to come. Topping the €20M origination mark makes us incredibly proud and happy to be serving so many customers. Let’s see what the last month of 2021 will bring for our loan origination statistics.