Green loans inspire goodwill from peer-to-peer lenders
Research published by two University of Queensland pupils has revealed that peer-to-peer loan providers are more inclined to accept reduced economic returns they are funding is socially and environmentally responsible if they know the project.
Jason Lejcak (Bachelor of Economics (Honours)) and Benjamin Wiltshire (Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and Bachelor of Science) co-authored the research as an element of a research task with UQ’s Australian Institute for Business and Economics (AIBE), that was made feasible by way of a scholarship given by two UQ alumni.
The pair examined data from a popular Australian peer-to-peer lending platform and found that small green loans – averaging around $8000 and used largely for renewable energy projects such as installing rooftop solar – had a 2.1 per cent lower interest rate than a comparable loan used for other purposes as part of the study.
Mr Lejcak stated while green loans comprised a little piece of this lending that is peer-to-peer, these were a fast-growing category of loan demands.
“Peer-to-peer economic lending platforms offer people and smaller loan providers using the chance to partake in social impact investing, which can be usually away from range of banks and larger loan providers, ” he said.
“once you think about the sharing economy, a lot of people consider Uber (transportation) and AirBnB (accommodation), but peer-to-peer financing is an extremely exciting and competitive area that’s checking new and transforming current markets. ”
Mr Wiltshire stated he sooo want to see peer-to-peer platforms follow a social impact metric for loan demands.
“If these platforms could offer peer-to-peer loan providers use of a social effect metric, alongside the now available credit score metrics, we think it may attract a more substantial market and improve the financing task on these platforms, ” he said.
“In Australia, the sector continues to be quite tiny and unregulated, and even though there’s nevertheless much to explore and comprehend, our research recommends applying a social impact metric could replace the game for renewable power lending on peer-to-peer platforms. Read more…