Harmoney

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Harmoney
Limited
Industry Personal finance
Founded Auckland, New Zealand
(2013)
Headquarters Parnell
Auckland, New Zealand
Key people
 Neil Roberts, CEO; Simon Ward, CFO; Brad Hagstrom, COO; Pearl Laughton, CIO[1]
Products Peer-to-peer lending
Website www.harmoney.co.nz

Harmoney Limited is a New Zealand-based peer-to-peer lending service headquartered in Auckland.[2] Harmoney operates by connecting individuals who want to borrow with individuals who want to invest. Harmoney provides personal loans, though has said that it intent to expand into business loans in future.[3]

Launched in September 2014, Harmoney was the first licensed provider in New Zealand after peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding were enabled in April 1, 2014 following the passing of new financial legislation in New Zealand.[4][5][6]

History

Harmoney was founded in late 2013 by Neil Roberts who became CEO of the new company.[7] 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.[8][9]

Harmoney launched on September 10, 2014, after it had obtained a licensed by the Financial Markets Authority on July 8, 2014.[10] The company said it had NZD $100 million available to lend from four main investors.[11] One main investor was revealed to be Heartland bank, but Harmoney has declined to disclose the remaining three.[12]

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 can be secured with a motor vehicle or unsecured, and can be between $1,000 - $35,000 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.[13]

New Zealand residents aged 18 or older with a valid New Zealand driver's licence are eligible to invest or apply for a loan through Harmoney.

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",[14] enabling investors to choose how much to invest in each loan, with a minimum investment of $25.

Investors earn money from interest and receive repayments from borrowers as they are made, proportionate to the percentage of the loan total they funded.[15] 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[13]

Board of Directors

  • Rob Campbell, Chairman; Investor.[16]
  • Christina Domecq, Independent Director; CEO, Localist.[16]
  • Tracey Jones, Independent Director; COO & CFO, Tappenden Holdings Ltd.[16]
  • David Flacks, Independent Director; Partner, Bell Gully.[16]
  • Neil Roberts, CEO & Founder.[17]

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

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External links

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