Debitum Network’s overview
Debitum Network offers to invest in business loans and invoice financing; the interest rates vary between 6% and 11%, with durations from a few days to two years. Most loans are secured by a buyback guarantee.
My opinion on Debitum Network
Debitum Network‘s solid risk management will strongly appeal to conservative investors. I tend to prefer slightly more risky investments with low double-digit interest rates.
Detailed ratings
Debitum Network’s pros & cons
Pros
- A large volume of loans
- Risk management seems to be taken seriously
- The website’s ergonomics has improved a lot
Cons
- Low returns
- No secondary market
Loans characteristics
Loans duration
Loans kinds
Minimal investment
Buyback guarantee
Currencies
Overview of Debitum Network’s loans
All loans (called assets at Debitum Network) are in Euro. As of August 2020, the maximal interest rate on the platform is 9%. In average, it’s slightly above 8%, a rather low figure.
The loans duration vary greatly. They can be as short as a few days, and as high as five years. The average duration is around nine months.
Depending on the loans term, interests may be repaid monthly or at end of term. Unfortunately, as we’ll see below, this aspect can’t be used to configure auto-invest.
The minimal investment amount is € 10.
Loans volume
As I’m updating this Debitum Network review in summer 2020, there are around 150 loans available in the platform. The financed amounts can be very small, especially for invoice financing (sometimes as little as € 1,000; the largest loan is around € 130,000.
Overall, the total amount financed through the platform is around € 24,000,000. This is much less than most competitors.
Buyback guarantee
Loans on Debitum Network come with a buyback guarantee. Unfortunately, the delay is rather long; indeed, it only triggers after 90 days.
Platform’s transparency and reliability
Debitum Network‘s risk management policy seems to be very trustworthy – I especially appreciate the fact that the rating of the originators is outsourced -.
The great level of detail provided for each loan originator, as well as the explanations regarding the methodology are more than satisfying.
Finally, I appreciate the presence of a second level of authentication through apps like Google Authenticator. It’s mandatory to activate it before withdrawing funds, which makes investors’ account safer.
Debitum Network’s background and team
Debitum Network’s website was launched in September 2018. The platform was founded by the previous owners of loan originator Debifo, which was present on Mintos. Debifo was since bought by another originator Factris. The platform’s offices are located in Riga, Latvia – they actually share the same office as Factris -.
The whole team (a bit more than ten people) is introduced on the website, along with links to their LinkedIn profiles. Most employees have a rather extensive experience in finance, which is rather reassuring.
The platform was funded through an ICO (Initial coin offering). They managed to raise nearly eighteen million dollars, which is huge. Although I usually regard crypto-based platforms with a lot of suspicion, all operations on the platform take place through fiat currencies and thus provide a normal level of traceability. Initially it was still possible to use the DEB token in order to invest, but this feature got removed.
One regret is that the platform doesn’t provide financial reports, unlike many competitors.
Loans descriptions
The loans descriptions are detailed and extremely readable.
Loan originators reliability
As of August 2020, there are currently ten loan originators on Debitum Network. Although most are incorporated in Baltic countries, Triple Dragon is a U.K. firm.
For each of them, many statistics are provided regarding the available assets and overall portfolio size.
In addition, the platform has conducted a detailed evaluation of each originator. It’s an interesting read, which provided many details regarding the company’s financials. Moreover, this evaluation is regularly updated.
Several peer-to-peer or P2B lending platforms provide ratings, either for the loan originators or the borrowers. For example, Mintos rates each originator. Debitum Network is similar to Iuvo, which grants a rating to each individual borrower. However, the way the rating is handled by the platform is its main selling point. Indeed, these ratings aren’t computed by Debitum Network, but by independent credit rating agencies. This results in a more objective evaluation.
In Autumn 2019, both Mintos and Viventor suffered from late repayments from the loan originator Aforti Finance. Investors at Debitum Network didn’t have to worry about it : indeed, while this loan originator was added in late April, all their assets were removed shortly thereafter, in late July. Indeed, the platform investigated Aforti Finance’s financial situation and didn’t find it satisfying, so it bought back all loans (including accrued interests). This kind of proactive move is unfortunately too rare, and it shows a very high level of professionalism regarding Debitum Network’s risk management team !
Reporting & statistics availability
Statistics regarding loan volumes and number of investors are publicly available.
Track record
Debitum Network’s periodic review of loan originators seems to be fruitful, as illustrated by the way they handled Aforti’s case. As a result, the platform’s track record is spotless.
Communication & support
Debitum Network communicates rather actively, and investors can expect to receive around one e-mail per week regarding special offers, new originators or large assets added.
it’s possible to get in touch with the platform either by e-mail or phone. I didn’t use any of these options.
Impact of Covid-19 outbreak on Debitum Network
Compared to other platforms, Debitum Network has communicated very little during the Covid-19 outbreak. On the other hand, it was already regarded as a reliable platform which handles risk management in a serious manner.
The main change triggered by the economic downturn was that they switched from a quarterly to a monthly review for the loan originators.
According to Debitum Network’s figures, the amount managed by the platform actually increased between March and April 2020, unlike what happened for most competitors. It shows a strong confidence from investors towards the platform !
Platform’s features
Early exit
Investing methods
Manual investing at Debitum Network
Although it’s not the most comfortable option (auto-investing is more convenient), investing manually is an option.
The available loans list can mainly be filtered according to their credit score and interest rate. Additional filters include the loan amount, loan originator and repayment date. I appreciate the opportunity to hide loans which are already present in the investor’s portfolio.
It’s also possible to sort the list by credit score, interest rate, outstanding LTV (loan-to-value ratio) or available amount.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to view several loans at the same time in different browser tabs.
Auto-invest
It’s rather easy to configure Debitum Network‘s auto-invest. It’s possible to select the credit score, interest rates range, loan originators. In addition, the portfolio size and minimum/maximum loan size has to be configured.
One useful feature is that the number of loans matching the selected criteria is displayed in real-time, which helps to adjust the settings in a painless way.
Secondary market
Debitum Network unfortunately doesn’t provide a secondary market. This may be inconvenient for long-term loans.
Website’s ease of use
Languages
Funding methods
Debitum Network’s registration process
Signing-up to Debitum Network was straightforward.
Account funding and funds withdrawal
Deposits can be made via a SEPA transfer. The currency can be either euro, British pounds or US dollars depending on the investor’s nationality. However, the transferred amount will be converted to euros.
Although the minimal amount invested in a project is € 10, the minimum deposit amount is € 100.
Website’s design and ergonomics
The initial version of Debitum Network‘s website was truly awful. It was both ugly and very hard to use; even Omaraha‘s website was a pleasure to use in comparison ! Fortunately there’s been a larger upgrade which greatly enhanced the usability.
Available languages & translations quality
The translations on Debitum Network‘s website are great.
Reporting
The reporting provided by Debitum Network is rather complete. The portfolio overview is detailed, the transactions list is very readable.
Documentation
The documentation mostly consists of a large FAQ.
Actual performance of my Debitum Network portfolio
9,94%
At the end of August 2020, the XIRR for my Debitum Network portfolio was 9,94%.
The performance of my Debitum Network portfolio is much lower than most competitors; it's the price to pay for safer originators.
Don't hesitate to read my most recent crowdlending portfolio review for detailed platforms performance comparison as well as historical performance.
Portfolio creation date
I created my Debitum Network portfolio in January 2019.
Debitum Network's main competitors
For a detailed comparison of the different real-estate and business crowdlending platforms, check out this article.
Debitum Network's facts & figures
Location
Founded in
Number of investors
Loans amount financed
As of August 2020
Who can invest at Debitum Network
Debitum Network FAQDebitum Network operator is established in Latvia, but the platform is open for global investors all around the world where lending platforms comply with the local legislation.
In conclusion...
For most investors, investing through Debitum Network won't be a priority because of the low interest rates. However, the platform 's great track record will allow investors to invest large sums in business loans without losing sleep over their investments. In that regard, it's an excellent complement to EstateGuru's real-estate loans.
Disclosure
Please note that this review may contain affiliate links. It means that I will earn a commission if you decide to invest after clicking through the link – at no additional cost to you, of course -. Please understand that I have experienced all of these companies, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the commissions I make if you decide to invest through my links.