FTT Lending 3.0 provided plenty of food for thought

 

Earlier this spring Dawn Wood, UK Territory Director, and Michael Henderson, UK Sales Director attended FTT Lending 3.0 in London. FTT Lending is the UK’s biggest and best event for the next generation of lenders, loan providers, fintechs and credit and capital allocators. In other words, it’s for people who are powering the future of lending. 

We caught up with Dawn to get her views on the event. 

“The FTT Lending 3.0 was a wonderful event! 

We attended various sessions throughout the day, all of which were of a high standard and insightful. Listening to panel members share their thoughts and aims alongside some good debates with differing views always sparks my own ideas. They often lead to great follow-up conversations with panel members who already partner with Monevo as well as with those that don't.

Topics of the day that really caught my attention were: 

- the use of chat GPT to generate code

- how Credit Unions and Building Societies take a different view of things compared to traditional credit providers

- how underserved customers can be better supported

- how some friction between credit and risk and growth can be positive for sustainability 

There was a lot of discussion around the fact that in recent times, larger traditional lenders have exited the more challenging affordability space and this has led to less consumer choice. At the opposite end of the market, 12 ‘High Cost Short Term’ lenders have left the market since January 2022. 

These factors combine to make access to credit of any type more difficult for significant numbers of consumers, with some excluded all together. Positively, the UK fintech sector is at the forefront of new lending models using technologies such as Open Banking to more deeply understand a customer’s ability to repay. In addition, Credit Unions are seeking ways to further enhance existing distribution. In one example, an Open Banking lender stated that 10% of its consumer lending was to customers that had no traditional credit footprint. 

It was great to chat with existing contacts and new people during the networking breaks and these conversations have continued after the event. 

All in all, this was an informative event with insightful discussion around important topics for our industry. We are very much looking forward to the upcoming events in 2023 and beyond."