PrivatBank launches P2P crediting platform from March 1

The largest bank in Ukraine PrivatBank (Dnipropetrovsk) from March 1, 2016 launched the peer-to-peer (P2P) crediting platform for small business and population, First Deputy Board Chairman of PrivatBank Oleh Horokhovsky wrote on his Facebook page.

"The main goal is to allow small business and the public to receive credits quickly at low credit rates. We believe that this will promote development of small business and self-employment in Ukraine, it will stir up the crediting market and increase the number of jobs in the country," he wrote.

Horokhovsky said that PrivatBank acted as an organizer and operator of the P2P crediting service.

He said that at the first phase PrivatBank plans to provide a possibility of using the service for clients who were taught by employees of the bank's departments, and then clients will be able to use the service themselves.

"We're holding talks on joining of some Ukrainian banks and financial companies to the project and in the near term we would allow small enterprises that are located in one town or even on the same street with the investor to invest via our platform," he said.

Horokhovsky said that the P2P platform would allow creditors to receive a chance of issuing credits to borrowers without intermediaries, having bigger rates compared to deposit rates, borrowers to have access to cheap credits and banks to connect to the platform and credit borrowers without spending on the search of clients, assess risks and other things.

PrivatBank acted as the operator of the platform in partnership with MasterCard.

He said that the global P2P crediting market grew from $1.2 billion in 2012 to UAH 64 billion in 2016.