In Spain, banks have always had the possibility of offering a wide range of financial services, such as the securitization of assets; as opposed to US banks, which have been legally prohibited from offering certain services related to the capital markets. This is why the banking industry in Spain has always enjoyed a leading role in the financial market, also partly due to the absence of a competitive market with alternative sources of finance for private companies and individuals.
Currently in Spain, around 80% of credit is controlled by the banks, which means a great deal of dependence on bank finance. As shown in the graph below, non-bank finance in Spain comprises 22% of the total, which includes peer to peer (P2P) lending, whereas in other countries, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, P2P lending comprises almost around 65% – 70%.
Source: El Mundo
Growth of P2P Lending
Alternative funding in Spain is growing exponentially. The economic crisis in the country from 2009 to 20015 resulted in bank finance drying up, which forced companies and individuals to seek new sources of funding. This is now benefiting P2P lending and giving rise to new non-banking platforms and institutions offering P2P lending in Spain, such as MytripleA.
Peer to peer lending in Spain, in comparison to Europe
According to a report by Cambridge University about alternative finance on-line, which includes P2P lending, Spain ranks in 6th position in Europe, with funds under management of €63m, behind the leader the UK, with a volume of €2,337m, and other countries such as Sweden, Germany and France.
The following graph shows the number of platforms in each European country.
Source: Cambridge University
With respect to the number of platforms in each country, the graph shows that the United Kingdom leads with 65. It is followed by Spain with 34, France with 33, and then Germany and the Netherlands with 31.
P2P lending in Spain in comparison to alternative sources of finance
Within all the types of alternative finance in Spain, such as Crowdfunding and Invoice factoring, P2P lending is in second position with €13.7m of funds managed. Invoice factoring was the highest value sector with €35.1m of transactions in 2014.
The following graph shows the alternative finance market in Spain, as well as the growth of the five main types of alternative finance from 2012 to 2014.
Source: MytripleA data based on the report by the Cambridge University (volume in millions of euros)
The graph shows that P2P lending grew from less than €1m in 2012 to €2.7m in 2013, reaching a volume of €13.7m in 2015. P2P lending in Spain experienced a huge increase of over 360% in the years 2012-2014 becoming the fastest growing category in comparison to the other types of alternative finance, which themselves grew 150%.
Businesses are discovering new ways of achieving business growth and development, by opting for P2P lending instead of the increasingly scarce bank finance.
P2P lending market trends in Spain
- P2P lending market growth: the exponential market growth of P2P lending will continue throughout Europe including Spain. This new source of finance arrived later in Spain than in Northern Europe and the effects are just beginning to be noticed. Nevertheless, the data provide reassurance that growth will continue into the future.
- Institutional investment through P2P lending platforms: MytripleA works with the GLI Finance platform, a well known investment fund in London that also participates in loans presented on the platform with the same conditions as smaller investors.
- Partnership agreements between P2P lending platforms and banks: far from behaving as competitors, many cooperation agreements are being signed between P2P lending platforms and banking institutions in search of profits for both and the development of the financial market in general. Examples of such agreements are ING Direct with Kabbage and Citibank with Lending Club.
P2P Lending at MytripleA
Over the past year MytripleA has achieved the following milestones :
- Made over 150 loans
- Advanced more than €4m of funding to small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed
- Registered more than 1000 investors
- Won the award for the Most Promising Company from Actualidad Económica
- Won the award for the Most Innovative Company from Federacion de Organizaciones Empresariales Sorianas (FOES)
- Won the award for the Most Innovative Product from Castilla y León Económica