Twino creates task force to manage Russia loans
European peer-to-peer lending platform Twino has created an internal task group to monitor loans with exposure to Russia, as the Russia/Ukraine conflict intensifies.
In a note to investors, the Latvia-based lender said that it was in constant contact with its Russian staff members and made it clear that it is opposed to any military action.
It confirmed that Russian loans currently make up approximately 20 per cent of its loan book.
Twino has “activated additional measurements” of its Russian loan originator’s risk policy, which has resulted in limiting issuances in some regions and to riskier customer groups.
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The platform said that it has already budgeted for a potential depreciation of the rouble, but it is actively managing its exposure to Russia’s currency.
It added that a significant liquidity buffer has been accumulated in its European operations, and its banks in Europe and Russia said that there are no known expected disruptions in payments, even if Russia is disconnected from SWIFT.
“Twino is against any military invasion,” the company said in a blog on its website.
“The ongoing conflict is political, but unfortunately, it is also affecting the people and businesses in Russia who are put in a difficult situation due to existing and potential sanctions.
“At this stage, we will not limit the financial inclusion for civilians – the Russian loan originator will continue to issue loans and these loans will be available for investments.”
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Russia loans represented 20.1 per cent of the total investor portfolio at the end of January. Russian consumer loans are being offered with a 10 per cent interest rate, and 12 per cent interest with the currency exposure functionality.
“Overall, it should be stated that the lending sector is relatively immune to market fluctuations, which has also been clearly shown by the pandemic-caused crisis, which left a short-term negative impact on the sector that was followed by a swift recovery,” added Twino.
“Furthermore, we want to highlight that Twino has well-developed change management processes, a great example of which was the aforementioned Twino’s action plan during the pandemic, allowing it to overcome the negative effects.”
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