Harmoney

Harmoney Limited is a New Zealand and Australian lending service which originally started with peer-to-peer lending but no longer serves retail investors. It is headquartered in Auckland[2] with offices in Sydney. Harmoney operates by connecting individuals who want to borrow with individuals who want to invest. Harmoney provides unsecured personal loans up to $70,000 on a range of terms and competitive interest rates.

Harmoney
Limited
IndustryPersonal finance
FoundedAuckland, New Zealand
(2013)
HeadquartersParnell
Auckland, New Zealand
Key people
Neil Roberts, joint CEO; Brad Hagstrom, joint CEO; Simon Ward, CFO; [1]
ProductsPeer-to-peer lending
Website

Launched in September 2014, Harmoney was the first licensed provider in New Zealand after peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding were enabled on 1 April 2014, following the passing of new financial legislation in New Zealand.[3][4][5]

History

Harmoney was founded in late 2013 by Neil Roberts who became CEO of the new company.[6] Roberts is the primary share owner of Harmoney. Icehouse (New Zealand based business incubator) holds a 2% stake, while Heartland Bank announced it had taken a 10% stake in the platform for an undisclosed sum in September, 2014.[7][8] Trade Me announced in January 2015 it had acquired a 15% stake for $7.7 million. Trade Me appointed CFO Jonathan Klouwens to join Harmoney's board of directors.[9][10]

Harmoney launched on 10 September 2014, after it had obtained a licence by the Financial Markets Authority on 8 July 2014.[11] The company said it had NZD $100 million available to lend from four main investors.[12] One main investor was revealed to be Heartland bank, but Harmoney has declined to disclose the remaining three.[13] In June 2016, Harmoney announced that it had generated 8.6 million in revenue for its first full year of operation.[14] This was a loss of $14.2m for the full year, as it continues to invest and grow staff numbers.

Business Model

Harmoney enables borrowers to apply for personal loans through its website by providing details about themselves and the loan they would like to apply for. Loans are unsecured, and can be between $2,000 - $70,000 for three or five-year terms. Harmoney determines the creditworthiness of a borrower on the basis of their credit history, their income, debt and requested loan amount. Applicants are assigned a risk grade and associated interest rate according to Harmoney's scorecard, which grades loans on a scale from A to F.[15]

New Zealand residents aged 18 or older with a valid New Zealand driver's licence or NZ Passport are eligible to invest or apply for a loan through Harmoney. Loan interest rates range from 6.99% to 29.99%, with bad debts averaging 3.05% of total money borrowed as at December 2017.[16]

Investors can browse the loans listed on Harmoney's website and select loans based on criteria including loan amount, loan purpose, and loan grade. Harmoney fractionalises loans into $25 "notes",[17] enabling investors to choose how many notes to invest in each loan, with a minimum deposit of $500 into your account.[18]

Investors earn money from interest and receive repayments from borrowers as they are made, proportionate to the percentage of the loan total they funded.[19] Harmoney makes money by charging a platform fee to borrowers and a service fee to investors. The platform fee amount varies from 2% to 6% depending on the borrower's credit grade, while the service fee is 1.25% on all amounts the borrower pays.[15]. Borrowers pay either $200 or $450 if their loan is successfully funded.[20]

Board of directors
  • Tracey Jones, Independent Director; COO & CFO, Tappenden Holdings Ltd.[21]
  • David Flacks, Independent Director; Partner, Bell Gully.[21]
  • Stuart McLean, Director; Head of Marketplace at Trade Me.[21]
  • Richard Dellabarca, Independent Director; Chief Executive, NZVIF's .[21]
  • Neil Roberts, Joint CEO and Founder.[22]

Advisory Board
  • Brian Barefoot, Advisor, Lending Club; Former CEO PaineWebber International; President Emeritus, Babson College.
  • Etienne Boillot, General Partner, Shepard Capital.
  • Scott Bommer, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer at SAB Capital Management, LP; Equity Investor at Lending Club.
  • Charles Moldow, General Partner, Foundation Capital; Equity Investor in Lending Club, AuxMoney, and OnDeck Capital.

See also

References
  1. "Harmoney advisory board". Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  2. Adams, Christopher (8 July 2014). "Peer-to-peer lending gets NZ green light". New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  3. "Harmoney the first peer-to-peer lender to obtain a licence from the FMA - interest.co.nz". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  4. "NZ's first licenced online peer-to-peer lender now up and running - interest.co.nz". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  5. "Cabinet rubber stamps regulations for crowd funding and peer-to-peer lending - interest.co.nz". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  6. "About Harmoney Peer Lending". Harmoney.
  7. "Banks' personal loans and credit card business in the sights of peer-to-peer lending applicant Harmoney - interest.co.nz". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  8. "Heartland invests in HarMoney funding, after taking 10% stake". TVNZ. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  9. Elisara, Greg (12 January 2015). "Trade Me pays $7.7 million for 15% stake in peer-to-peer lender Harmoney". Harmoney. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  10. "Trade Me acquires stake in peer-to-peer lender Harmoney". Investor Relations – Trade Me Group Ltd. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  11. "FMA issues first NZ peer to peer licence". Financial Markets Authority NZ. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  12. "HarMoney launches with $100m to lend". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  13. "Peer-to-peer lender Harmoney launches, officially, with $100 million to lend - interest.co.nz". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  14. "Harmoney generates $8.6m of revenue in first year". NBR. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  15. "Interest Rates and Fees for our Lending marketplace". Harmoney. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  16. "Harmoney Review". moneyhub NZ. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  17. "How to diversify with Peer to Peer Lending - Harmoney". Harmoney. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  18. Sluka, Kate (29 January 2015). "Peer-to-peer lending". Consumer NZ. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  19. "Investor FAQs - on how to invest". Harmoney. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  20. "Harmoney Loans Review - The Definitive Guide". MoneyHub.co.nz. December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  21. "Peer-to-peer lending start-up Harmoney names Rob Campbell chairman - interest.co.nz". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  22. "Harmoney CEO and Directors - harmoney.co.nz". Retrieved 13 September 2016.
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