PFCT, an online investment-linked finance company, said Wednesday it has supplied more than 180 billion won in mid-interest loans over the past year, marking the first anniversary of its savings bank-linked investment service.
According to PFCT, personal credit loans executed using savings bank investment funds from May 29 last year to May 29 this year totaled 186.6 billion won. The number of borrowers using the loans reached 10,683. Compared with the interim results announced last November, when the handled amount stood at 34.2 billion won with eight participating savings banks, the volume expanded more than fivefold over the past six months, and the number of participating institutions more than doubled.
Quarterly growth was also pronounced. While the handled amount in the service's first quarter stood at around 7.1 billion won, it later rose to 27.1 billion won and 44.3 billion won, expanding to 108.2 billion won in the most recent quarter. The company explained this resulted from expanded savings bank participation and growing confidence in its AI-based proprietary risk management capabilities.
The average interest rate on loans handled over the year, excluding platform usage fees, was tallied at 11.01 percent annually. This is about 1.5 percentage points lower than the average rate of Sunshine Loan (12.52 percent) and the lowest rate of savings banks' Saitdol 2 (12.5 percent).
The average NICE credit score of loan users was 743 points. The lowest score was 563 points. By credit score distribution, the 700-799 point range accounted for the largest share at 63.31 percent, followed by the 600-699 point range at 22.35 percent. This means more than 85 percent of all borrowers fall into the mid-to-low credit tier.
In particular, 31.15 percent of all loans were executed at annual interest rates of 10 percent or lower. Considering that the average credit score is in the low 700s range, the analysis suggests that a significant portion of mid-to-low credit borrowers received the benefit of interest rates in the low double digits or below.
Soundness indicators also remained at favorable levels. PFCT's delinquency rate stood at 0.37 percent, far below the savings bank sector's average delinquency rate of around 9 percent as of the first quarter. However, since loans with 60-month maturities accounted for 37.5 percent and those with 120-month maturities accounted for 32.49 percent of handled loans, long-term soundness assessment requires further observation, the company said.
Linked-investment loans have also recently been used to meet demand for refinancing loans. PFCT said borrowers who used the refinancing service reduced their interest burden by an average of about 234,000 won per month. Through this, the company is assessed to be contributing to easing the repayment burden of mid-to-low credit borrowers caught in non-bank high-interest loans or multiple-debt structures.
As linked investment has expanded, participating institutions have also steadily increased. The number has grown from eight savings banks at the outset to 17 currently, and some small and mid-sized savings banks are participating in the mid-interest market through linked investment without directly handling personal credit loans. With regional Nonghyup recently joining as an investor, PFCT expects the private mid-interest finance ecosystem to expand further.
"By combining the technology of online investment-linked finance with the capital of savings banks, we have confirmed that a private mid-interest model that fills the interest rate gap can actually work in the market," PFCT CEO Lee Soo-hwan said. "We will continue to enhance financial accessibility for mid-to-low credit borrowers and expand the private inclusive finance ecosystem through collaboration with more institutional investors."
