Abstract
Overview
Introduction
The commoditized nature of unsecured personal loans has stifled the innovation
process in the UK. This brief looks at unsecured personal loan innovations
from abroad and assesses their potential in the UK market.
Scope
- Examples of unsecured personal loan innovations from around the world
- Expert opinion on the suitability of different personal lending
innovations for the UK market
- A look at how loan providers are adapting products to fit with changing
global concerns
Report Highlights
Despite the launch of Shariah banking in the UK, unsecured personal loans are
not yet widely available under Shariah Law. In Dubai however, banks are
careful to ensure that they offer loans that are consistent with the
principles of Shariah Law.
Mobile banking in the UK is still a very marginal activity, with only about
25,000 using mobile banking network Monilink in 2007. Mobile technology is
unlikely to be used unless it is free and if it is free then the provider will
bear the cost. This explains in part why mobile banking has yet to take off in
the UK.
In Dubai, bundling other financial products with an unsecured personal loan is
a popular strategy to attract customers. HSBC UAE is offering a current
account with its usual minimum balance requirement waived and a free credit
card for one year with its flexible personal unsecured loan.
Reasons to Purchase
- Gain insight into how innovations in the unsecured loan market abroad
might translate to the UK
- Develop an understanding of the use of new technologies to promote loan
uptake
- Keep up-to-date with the latest product developments in unsecured personal
lending
Table of Contents
- DATAMONITOR VIEW
- ANALYSIS
- Product design: the rest of the world has strived to makethe unsecured
personal loan a more dynamic product
- Banks in Dubai offer customers leveraged investmentproducts
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Dubai loan products are Shariah compliant
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Loan providers are offering a plethora of products thatprofess to care
for the environment
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Pricing structure: some French banks charge differentinterest rates
depending on region
- Crédit Agricole offers a simulation facility for loanpayback that
accounts for regional differences
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Repayment options: lenders from abroad tend to offer muchmore
flexibility with their loan repayment options
- In Singapore, GE Money' s James personal loans offersflexible repayment
options
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Loan Trimmer provides borrowers with tax savings
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Many banks allow customers to redraw their funds
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Bundling: unlike their foreign counterparts, UK banks donot tend to
bundle products, instead they favor standard cross-sellingtechniques
- Bundling products to existing customers is common in Dubaiand Australia
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Customer segmentation: loan providers are expanding theirloan offerings
to take account of different consumer segments
- Loan providers in the French market have a strong focus onproviding
loans to the young
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Loans for RRSP in Canada
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Distribution: the use of SMS messages to apply for loansis more advanced
abroad than in the UK
- Turkish banks are offering customers the chance to applyfor a loan
through their mobile phone
- Swedish SMS message loan providers have proved popularamong the young
- The Retail Banking Team view
- New technology: loan providers are gravitating towardssocial networking
sites as the next stage for selling loans
- Social lending has emerged with the popularity of socialnetworking
sites
- The Retail Banking Team view
- Financial institutions have started advertising financialproducts on
social networking sites
- The Retail Banking Team view
- APPENDIX
- Definitions
- Offset mortgage
- SIPPs (Self Invested Personal Pensions)
- Methodology
- Further reading
- Ask the analyst
- Datamonitor consulting
- Disclaimer
- List of Tables
- Table 1: Comparison of repayment rates for an equivalentloan across four
different French counties
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Mashreq website outlining key features forloans against shares
product
- Figure 2: Screenshot of Facebook Lending Clubapplication
- Figure 3: Financial service providers regularlyadvertise on platforms
such as Facebook