According to the RBA, lending to SMEs remains flat and demand by SMEs for credit is subdued.This is despite record low interest rates which the RBA says it won’t be looking to increase until 2024. So why aren’t more small businesses taking advantage of these rates? Will banks increase their lending. And what role can […]
The Government will cap the rate of interest lenders can charge on loans under the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme (SMEG) noting that the move “will prevent interest rate gouging”. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water! SMEG has been ineffective in allowing quick access to funding for small businesses that don’t have […]
Many small business owners are already in dire financial straits and sadly it will get worse when the life support provided by JobKeeper and bank forbearance is turned off in September. The Covid-19 economic crisis has highlighted deficiencies in the way SMEs are able to access debt finance primarily through the big four banks. This […]
Borrowing from a non-bank SME lender will cost more than borrowing from a bank and to be clear, so it should. Non-bank lenders have higher cost of funds, they take more risk and very often they don’t take hard assets as security which means if the borrower fails, they usually face a 100 per cent […]
The continued impressive growth achieved by Prospa post last year’s aborted IPO coinciding with the fall out from the Banking Royal Commission highlights just how important non-bank lenders have become for the future of Australian small businesses. Prospa is the dominant player in the online small business lending sector and the first to IPO. The […]
We are pleased to publish this easy to understand and independent guide to what SMEs need to know when considering whether to borrow from a fintech lender. Fintechs are playing an increasingly important role in enabling SMEs to access funds to maintain and grow their businesses but borrowing from a fintech is different to borrowing […]
Fintech lenders Capify, GetCapital, Moula, OnDeck, Prospa and Spotcap have collaborated with the Australian Finance Industry Association, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, theBankDoctor.org and FinTech Australia to produce a Code that will improve transparency and disclosure in this important alternative source of debt funding for Australian SMEs. The Code will inform SMEs […]
The aborted Prospa IPO raises questions not just about the online SME lender’s compliance with UCT but also ASIC’s role in applying and enforcing this law which came into effect in November 2016. In its prospectus Prospa said “we have reviewed our loan contract in relation to UCT in July 2015 and again in September […]
Prospa’s impressive growth trajectory is set to receive a boost when it becomes Australia’s first online small business lender to list on the ASX. But the prospectus exposes issues of transparency for the acknowledged market leader in what is a largely unregulated market. Propsa will raise $146m of new capital of which $100m will fund […]
theBankDoctor, Kate Carnell & Fintech Australia have published a detailed report on improving transparency in the fintech business lending sector. This project has been twelve months in the making and represents a line in the sand on industry self regulation which is needed to ensure this rapidly emerging sector fulfills its potential of becoming a […]
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.