Tag Archives: Grupeer

Grupeer will launch a new type of loan – amortizing loans

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Grupeer announced that today they will launch a new type of loan for investment! They will introduce amortizing loans by their trusted loan originator SIA Monify. One of Grupeer’s core competencies is diversification tools: geographical, loan type (real estate or business loans), and now loan repayment schedule.

How does it work?

Currently, the principal is returned back to the investor when the maturity date comes, and interest is calculated based on the total loan amount. The key difference of new amortizing loans is that principal repayment will take place over the loan period and interest is calculated from residual loan amount (total loan amount less principal repayments according to schedule).

Why is it good for investors?

Grupeer’s investors will be able to diversify held investment portfolio and considerably reduce credit risk. Credit risk is associated with the failure to return the principal at maturity. All Grupeer loans are protected by BuyBack guarantee- when loan originator is obliged to pay the principal and interest rate in case borrower defaults. However, there is still unlikely scenario that loan originator fails. In that case, Grupeer will facilitate the investment return by hiring a lawyer, who will represent the interest of all investors. However, this will take time and will cause inconvenience. So, with amortization loans, this risk is reduced.

The second benefit is a sooner availability of investment principal, which can be used for reinvestment. Setting up Auto-Invest function will automatically invest all money monthly received and will even further increase the return, as your money (which were sitting in the body of the loan) will be earning in the new project.

Please note, that because amortizing loans are a new product on the platform, auto-invest strategy can’t filter yet the amortizing loans vs. non-amortizing. So, if you do not wish your funds to be invested in the new type of loan, please disable the auto-invest temporarily.

New Grupeer project – Eidsvoll in Norway

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Grupeer informed today that a new investment opportunity will be available at the portal to all registered participants: Development project from Norway Eidsvoll.

Investment opportunity

Loan amount: 700 000 EUR
Loan period: 12 months
Interest rate: 13%
Loan originator: Primo invest SIA
Country: Norway

BuyBack guarantee in case of borrower’s payments delay for more than 60 days.

SIA Primo Invest issues a loan to Norwegian Company to finance the development project in Eidsvoll, Norway for the total amount of 700,000 EUR for the duration of 12 months. Overall value of the contract is 1,469,000 EUR.

Eidsvoll project

Eidsvoll project

7 economic facts making Norway a smart investment

  1. Oil, is it good or is it bad?

Norway is an oil rich country, however it has escaped “oil curse”- meaning they don’t rely on oil income and don’t hesitate generating economic growth from other industries. Instead, most of the revenue from oil extraction goes to massive $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund which holds 1% of all world’s equities. If divided by each citizen, it will make every one of them a millionaire in local currency! Norway saves all this money for future generations and spends on public projects less than 4%. Depending on oil income makes country very vulnerable to the volatile oil prices and creates uncertainty. But in Norway, even when oil will run out, the wealth fund will serve as a “cushion”. However, it is not going to happen in the near future, besides that, in the fjords around the mainland there are vast stocks of oil yet to be discovered.

  1. One of the richest per head

Northern Kingdom has one of the highest GDP per capita- it is ranked 4th by World Bank after Luxemburg, Macao and Switzerland. The source of Norway’s riches is oil, and with relatively small population just over 5 million people GDP per capita is impressive $75,000 comparing to less than $45,000 in European economic heavyweight Germany. The cost of living in Norway is very high too, but it is leveled out by high salaries and still makes Norwegian citizens better off than their Western European neighbors. Wellbeing in Norway is definitely very high, as Norway ranks among the happiest countries on earth by the UN.

  1. Egalitarian society

Norway tops 2017 index of inclusive economies, conducted by World Economic Forum. This means that Norway managed to translate high economic growth into the high living standards of its population (despite high costs of living, the spending power is still much higher in this Nordic country). First, despite that there is no statuary minimum wage floor, Norwegian workers are protected by “collective agreements”. Furthermore, 54% of workers are participating in unions, compared to 11% in the US. Additionally, Norway ranks very high in education, with accessible higher education for everyone. Also, Norway is doing well in closing the gender gap, meaning that woman have same opportunities as men in social and economic activities. Besides gender equality, Norway is ranked as a top country in income distribution measured by Gini index.

  1. Political stability

The financial crisis that happened 10 years ago, has raised negative attitude towards capitalism in many developed countries. This gives a rise to new leftist parties all over Europe, who appeal to voters, but they still don’t have a clear vision and it is not known what effect the political paradigm can have on economies. Norway, on the other hand, is long known for having a “socialist democracy” and embraced it for a long time. The key to success is its openness to globalization, income redistribution, mixed ownership (government and private) and moderate state intervention.

  1. Hot housing market

2018 is one of the best years to invest in Norwegian property. Norway has one of the highest home ownership rates among developed nations: 85%. The housing market of Scandinavia’s richest economy has seen price surge in recent years amid record low interest and fiscal stimulus from the government. There are some fears that the prices should reverse in coming years, but for now they are valued historically high and some property firms claim that high property prices are attributed to shortage of new developments.

  1. Independent

Norway is not part of the EU or currency union, but it still enjoys the benefits of single European market, thanks to European Economic Area agreement. This makes Norway independent in conducting its own strategy and deciding its monetary policy managing Norwegian Krone (NOK, or nicknamed nokkies). The Krone was thought to be “an oil currency” meaning it correlated very closely to oil prices making it vulnerable to external shocks, however recently it showed that it is becoming more independent. Let’s hope also, that the non-European membership will give Norway advantage on negotiating trade terms with US president over the protectionist tariffs he is imposing on European Union.

  1. Taking the lead

Macroeconomic variables are in order in Norway. In the last 5 years Sweden was known a as a fastest growing Scandinavian economy, but not anymore. Sweden is experiencing immigration crisis, slowing demand from its trading partners and loose monetary policy. According to recent poll conducted by Reuters, it is predicted that the GDP will grow 2.2% in Norway in 2018, while 2% in Sweden. Norway is benefiting from picking up in the oil prices and good demand for its exports. Prudent fiscal and monetary policies are adding up stability too.

Grupeer peer-to-peer lending marketplace overview

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Grupeer platform is an electronic trading place that provides an opportunity to invest your free funds in secured loans. The services offered by the Platform are the servicing of claim right acquisition deals, i.e. the Platform brings together two independent participants of the deal – the  seller of the claim rights (credit company or investment company) and their buyer.

Grupeer Platform operates in the jurisdiction of the Republic of Latvia.

In Latvia, no unified normative regulation of mutual loans or financing with a pool is developed, therefore the services of the Platform are not subject to control of a single normative act, but are subject to a set of laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia and directives of the European Union.

The Civil Law of the Republic of Latvia does not prohibit the holder of a debt claim from selling a part of it to another person. Moreover, the holder of the debt claim has the right not only to sell the entire debt claim in the whole, but also to assign/sell a part of it.

The Platform does not carry out activities falling under the definition of a credit institution or payment system in terms of Latvian and European legislation.

Who is eligible to invest?

Both private investors and legal entities that wish to receive passive income from their investments will be able to achieve annual profits of up to 15%.

In accordance with AML (Anti Money Laundering) legal requirements Grupeer accept money transfers from accounts opened with licensed credit institutions in the countries of the European Economic Area (all EU Member States, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), as well as Switzerland. Accordingly, citizens / residents of these countries can register and make investments through the Grupeer Platform. In order to register and close deals, you need to be an adult capable person with a bank account.

The credit company, which issued a certain loan, remains interested in repayment and payment schedule compliance because this organization is the holder of the main debt claim.

Each registered Platform user can see all the information on a particular loan: the amount and purpose of the loan, the availability of collateral, the maturity date and the payment schedule. You independently analyze the information and decide how to direct your capital investment.

For example, you can repurchase the whole loan from the chosen creditor or only a certain part of it. All the time while payments on this loan are received the investor receives his profit, which is proportional to his investment share. At the same time, you can distribute your capital between several credit organizations – to invest in various types of loans, in different countries and for different borrowers.

In what currencies can investments be made?

The Platform makes settlements in euros (EUR). If the base currency of your current account is another currency, then before making a payment, you need to convert it into euro. In case of receiving funds in another currency, the Platform is entitled to return such a payment, retaining the commission in accordance with the bank’s tariffs, or convert them into euros at the current exchange rate of its bank.

How can funds be transfered?

The only possible means of payment at the moment is bank transfer. This is due to AML (Anti Money Laundering) legislation requirements. Grupeer accept money transfers from accounts opened with licensed credit institutions of the countries of the European Economic Area (all EU Member States, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), as well as Switzerland. For security purposes, withdrawal of funds is possible only to a confirmed bank account, i.e. the account which you transferred funds from to Platform bank account and which your user identification number is associated with.

Investing

Grupeer Platform provides an opportunity to invest in loans issued by credit market professionals – credit institutions and investment funds. For all loans, the borrower’s solvency has been assessed, and appropriate scoring and compliance procedures have been carried out.

A Platform user acquires a claim right to the borrower, thereby becoming a joint claim right holder. The credit company by means of such deals refinances a part of its loan portfolio, getting resources for further development.

The credit institution continues to administrate the loan, including receiving borrower’s payments, while paying to the investors their joint share in accordance with the amount of their claim right the borrower they acquired.

On the Platform two types of loans are offered: loans issued by credit institutions to individuals, and loans issued to enterprises. The loans, related to development projects, issued to companies specializing in real estate development projects, stand as a separate category. In all cases, despite the sale of part of the claim right (the so-called “investment in a loan”), the credit company remains the holder of the main debt claim, thus it is interested in following the payment schedule and repaying the loan by the borrower.

For each loan offered on the Platform, specific information is provided, including the purpose and amount of the loan, maturity date, type of payment schedule and availability of collateral. The user independently evaluates and decides which loan to invest in.

Investments in development objects offered by Grupeer Platform are also executed through already issued loans, by means of acquiring a claim right, and from legal point of view they do not differ from investing in other loans. A classic example is the situation when a loan issued to developer for acquiring a land plot (bringing communications, developing a technical project, etc.) is refinanced in this manner. In practice, these loans have the nature of interim financing (so-called bridge loans), with a 1-2-year term – usually this period is required to complete the “zero cycle” of construction, after which the object, having at this stage a much higher market value, is refinanced by the bank and partly – by real estate buyers through pre-sales in case of a residential project. Such a model is typical for many EU countries, for example, Germany.

To begin work on the Platform, you need to transfer an amount which is not less than the minimum investment amount (10 euros).

At the moment, the limit of incoming payments from a registered Grupeer user to Platform bank account is 50,000 euros per month. If you wish to invest a larger amount, you will need to provide the bank with additional information.

 

 

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