It’s been just over a month since we launched our new lender classifications and appropriateness test as required to by the new FCA regulations.
Having always had a focus on lender education and awareness building we applied the same approach to the introduction of and format of the tests. Whilst many of our lenders have been with us since the start and are well versed with the platform and its intricacies, we took the opportunity to use the tests as a chance to educate and guide new lenders about rebuildingsociety.com, our processes and our products rather than simply subject them to an A-Level type stress exam. That being said, it certainly wasn’t an open book test.
Every lender on rebuildingsociety.com, new or existing, High Net Worth or restricted is required to take the test in order to complete their onboarding or continue investing.
We’re glad to see that 99% of our lenders have successfully passed the test in under two attempts. Being slightly longer than many of the other platform’s tests we were concerned we might experience a high drop-off rate but have been pleased to see that only roughly 1% of those that attempted the test haven’t yet completed it.
Having tracked the success rates of each question we’ve been able to highlight areas and topics that are misunderstood or haven’t been made clear enough, allowing us to improve our communication in these areas. Highlighting risk and helping lenders understand the risk has always been a priority of ours, and over the years we’ve continually made improvements to loan profiles and the platform in general to assist lenders in their investment decisions.
Results from the lender classification has been helpful to us a platform as we’re now more easily able to tailor communication and future product innovations for each lender group, which will over all improve the service and experience each investor receives.
We will be reviewing our appropriateness tests on a bi-annual basis and in the meantime using the data and insights we’ve collected to improve lender understanding of p2p lending and the associated risks.
