Plenti chief executive Daniel Foggo says the sector is “coming of age” after the fintech lender achieved a cash net profit for the first time and its consumer loan portfolio swelled to more than $1 billion.quarterly loan originations hit a record $307.6 million in the quarter to December 31, up 135 per cent on the prior corresponding period and 20 per cent compared with the September quarter. Its overall loan portfolio reached $1.
Plenti also locked in a $250 million warehouse facility with Westpac providing the senior debt and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation mezzanine funding to finance electric vehicles and related equipment like recharging stations. Westpac said growth of electric vehicle sales in Australia is on the rise, with sales in the first six months of 2021 being 26 per cent higher than in the whole of 2020. Mr Foggo said low penetration rates meant there was room for more growth in the EV market.“What’s clear is that it’s set to grow really rapidly, there’s relatively low penetration in Australia and now there’s increasing supply from manufacturers which will help growth,” he said.