FAQ

General

faq

The list does not represent the complete set of information on which investors should base their investment decision. Prior to making any investment in P2P loans investors should ensure they fully understand all the risks of making investments in P2P loans including, but not limited to, the risk that part of all capital invested may be lost. Investors should also consult with their financial, tax and legal advisors. Investing in P2P loans should represent only a portion of an investor’s overall portfolio and does not represent a complete investment program. This list is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer of investment advisory services or a solicitation of investment. This list was published 22 May 2014.

What are P2P loans?

P2P loans are loans that are intermediated between investors and borrowers. The intermediary is called a P2P lender.

Do P2P borrowers provide collateral?

In many cases, for example in the case of general purpose business loans, borrowers provide no collateral. Business owners often are required to provide a personal guarantee so that if the business fails the owner is still responsible to make loan payments. Unsecured loans typically pay relatively high rates of interest in order to attract investors. The P2P sector is growing quickly and some lenders offer borrowers the opportunity to provide collateral such as real estate, automobiles and manufacturing equipment. Collateralised loans pay lower rates of interest.

Who are the borrowers?

Borrowers are small and medium sized businesses.

What makes P2P loans a safe investment?

Statistics from the largest and most reputable P2P lenders show the vast majority of borrowers have repaid their loans in full and on time. This is because P2P lenders, like banks and finance companies, have certain criteria borrowers must meet in order to obtain loans.

Are P2P loans guaranteed?

P2P loans are usually not guaranteed. Some P2P lenders establish reserve capital to compensate investors in case loans default. However, there is no assurance that even this additional safeguard will be enough to prevent investors from losing part or all of their capital invested.

How do P2P lenders ensure investors earn money?

P2P lenders have many procedures. First, they do background checks on the borrowers. Second, they set lending criteria. They often require that borrowers have a demonstrated history of repaying their loans. They also can require the borrowers have monthly income to make the required payments. Many lenders require verification of borrower data and proof of income. Many lenders also give each borrower a credit score that indicates how credit worthy the borrower is. Some lenders require borrowers to maintain payment protection insurance that that makes the monthly payments in case the borrower becomes unemployed, gets sick or loses his job.

What rates of interest do borrowers pay?

Borrowers usually pay rates of interest ranging from 6% to 30%. The interest rate depends upon several factors. Borrowers with high credit scores usually borrow at lower rates of interest than borrowers who have low credit scores.

What rates of interest do investors earn?

Investors usually earn between 4% and 20%.

What determines how much investors earn?

Investors who select only the highest quality, potentially safest loans usually earn lower rates of interest. Investors who select riskier loans can earn higher rates of interest. Also, investors who select loans with longer terms to maturity usually get higher rates than investors who select loans with shorter terms to maturity.

Do the borrowers and lenders know each other?

In the case of personal loans the largest and most reputable P2P lending sites ensure the identities of the investors and the borrowers are kept strictly confidential. Lenders focusing on business loans tend to encourage the borrowers to reveal their identity so that investors can know more about the businesses they are investing in.

How do investors collect the principal and interest?

P2P lenders do all the work of servicing the loan. Borrowers pay the P2P lender the same as they would pay a bank or finance company. Investors can choose either to receive payments of principal and interest or to reinvest in new loans.

faq

Invest and grow your savings with SymCredit

How do I open an investment account?

To establish an investment account you must complete our account opening and client identification procedures. When you open your account you’ll appoint SYMVEST, s.r.o. as your agent to arrange and administer loans in which you’d like to invest.

How do I fund my investment account?

We accept only bank transfers from bank accounts held in the name of the account owner. When you set up your investment account we will provide you banking instructions.

Where is my money held?

Your money is held at a fully licensed regulated bank. In the Czech Republic we maintain accounts with Unicredit.

How is my money protected?

We keep cash held for our clients strictly segregated from our own money. We maintain detailed records evidencing how much cash is held for each client. Upon request we share this information with banks, legal and regulatory authorities.

How can I withdraw my money?

Simply send us a request and we will return any cash in your account, except that which is held pending a loan offer you have made. Where applicable, we deduct bank transfer charges.
For security and anti-money laundering purposes we will only return money to the customer account from which it originated. If you change banks you’ll need to provide us additional documentation before we will act on your request to withdraw money.

How do I make loans?

After you open your investment account you’ll be able to browse our loan listings. You’ll find detailed information about each prospective borrower and request loan.
When you find a loan in which you’d like to invest simply enter the amount you offer to lend and the interest rate at whcih your offer is valid.

Can I withdraw my offer?

No. Once you make an offer to lend that offer cannot be withdrawn. For this reason you should consider each investment carefully before you extend an offer.

How long must I lend for?

Our loans have maturities ranging from 2 to 5 years. How long you lend for will depend on which loans you select.

How are the interest rates determined?

Interest rate are set at the time the borrower details are posted on our website. Each lender decides whether to offer to lend at that rate and invest in the loan or whether the lender will look for other opportunities.

How does Loan Listing Work?

We maintain a listing of each loan request. Anytime after the amount of money offered exceeds 70% of the amount to borrower requests the borrower may decide to close the loan listing and consider the loan to be fully funded. Loan listings will automatically close when offers have been received for the full amount of the loan request.

How long do loans stay listed?

The maximum time is 30 calendar days. If at the end of 30 days at least 70% of the amount requested is not offered the loan request is automatically cancelled and all offers are cancelled.

When will I know if my offer is accepted?

You should check the loan listing page to see the loan status. We’ll update that page to show the progress of each loan request.

What happens if my offer is accepted?

When the listing period closes the borrower will have seven business days to accept the loan offer and complete the loan contract.

Who owns the loan I’ve made?

You! Each loan contract is concluded by SymVest, acting as agent for the investors and named as a party to the loan contract signed by borrower. Each investor instead may arrange to have SymVest as a nominee owner. In that case, we will register your loan as SymVest for the benefit of client number XXX and we will not be obliged to reveal the name of the investor to the Company.

How is my privacy protected?

We will not disclose your identity to anyone except the company to whom you are lending and to banks, regulators and other legal authorities. We abide by strict data protection policies.

How do I collect my principal and interest?

Each borrower makes payments to SymVest. When SymVest receives the payments your Cash Account will be credited. You can either ask SymVest to send you the money or you can leave the money on account and reinvest in new loans.

What Does SymVest do?

SymVest is your agent. SymVest signs the loan contract with the borrowers, collects your principal and interest. If borrowers are not paying on time, SymVest will take action to collect outstanding money.

What information will I receive after I make a loan?

Each borrower is obliged to provide lenders a business update including financial results every six months. From time to time, borrowers may also make supplemental announcements to investotrs. SymVest will distribute this information.

SymVest monitors each borrower regularly. If we find out a borrower enounters financial difficultles or faces legal issues in connection with your loan or another loan the borrower has taken, SymVest will inform you.

How is my investment taxed?

Under Czech law interest income is taxable at a standard rate of 15%. Borrowers may be required by law to withhold tax on loan interest. When a borrower withholds tax, the borrower is oblied to pay the tax and you will receive report of the amount of tax withheld.

What Fees do I pay to Lend?

You pay no fees when you make a loan.

What fees does SymVest collect?

SymVest earns money when you earn money. We charge an administrative fee of 0.5% of the principal value of the loan. This is charged only when principal is actually re-paid and not before. We earn a share of the interest each borrower pays, depending on the risk band of the loan and depending on the overall interest rate charged to the borrower.

What is the Sym Rewards Program?

When a borrower makes all payments on time we refund the borrower a portfolio of the interest the borrower has paid. That comes out of SymVest’s share of the interest, not out the investor’s share. If the borrower is missing payments or paying late, that money is not refunded. The money we earn from late paying borrowers can be used to cover costs associated with loan collection, administration, and even to compensate investors.

The SymReward Program is not a form of insurance or guarantee. It is simply a resource that allows us to better serve our investors.

What are the key risks of making P2P loans?

Any time you lend money to a company or person your capital is at risk. The borrower’s circumstances can change over time. Bad debt refers to loans where the borrower has not repaid the full amount owed.

As part of lending to businesses, there will be instances where a business cannot continue to repay their loan, which becomes a ‘bad debt’. When this happens, we’ll send you an email to notify you that we’re working to recover your money. We manage the recoveries process on your behalf, so you don’t need to do anything. We’ll keep you updated on our progress.

How much bad debt should I expect?

In theory, the risk bands should be guide for you. We provide estimated bad debt rates for each risk band. We also provide detailed statistics on the performance of the loans we have issued. This statistics present by risk band the number of loans we have made, the amount of the loans the percent of loans classified as bad debt and the amount of bad debt recovered.

How does SymVest take legal steps?

We’ve established a process to make pursuing legal actions efficient and cost effective. Our lending contracts allow us to seek judgement against the borrower and the guarantor in the Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of Commerce. Decisions of this Court are enforceable according to Czech and international law. We can take other steps such as requesting courts to freeze borrower assets, taking possession of collateral posted by borrowers, requesting executors to seize assets.
If we feel there is reason to be believe a crime has been committed we can file police complaints and seek criminal prosecution.

How does a guarantee work?

If a loan is guaranteed then in case the borrower fails to make payments of as and when they are due the guarnator is obliged to make those payments. We can pursue guarantors using similar legal steps as pursuing borrowers.

What happens when SymVest classify a loan as Defaulted?

When we classify a loan as Defaulted we will also provide lenders our assessment of how much we think can realistically be recovered. Lenders can decide if they would like SymVest to pursue recovery or if lender would like to opt-out and pursue recovery on their own.

What happens if SymVest goes bankrupt?

In the event we go bankrupt all cash held in the client account must automatically be returned to the its rightful owners – the clients to whom that cash belongs.
Second, an independent administrator will be appointed to continue collecting principal and interest from the loans and paying that to investors.
Additionally, each investor can exercise his or her right to insist the borrower make payments directly to the investor.

GETTING STARTED

If you haven’t done so, open your investment account with SymCredit. We’ll help you complete our anti-money laundering and customer identification process and we’ll show you how to place funds in your SymCredit account.
Welcome aboard!

faq

Accelerate your business with P2P Loans

The list contains most common questions asked by P2P Borrowers. However it does not represent the complete set of information. We strongly advise you to download and read thoroughly all documents and contracts which are posted on pages for registered users. Should you have any concerns about them, we advise you to seek professional advice.

What is SymCredit?

SymCredit is the company that helps you place your loan on the website.

Who is my business actually borrowing from?

You’re borrowing from SymVest, s.r.o and the actual investors who committed to purchase your loan during the listing period.

How will I repay my loan?

You’ll make one easy convenient payment to SymVest. As agent for the investors, SymVest is responsible for distributing the proceeds to the investors.

What happens if SymVest goes bankrupt?

A backup servicing agent has been appointed and that agent will continue to administer your loan and distribute proceeds to investors.

What happens if SymVest doesn’t pay the investors?

Once the required payment is made to SymVest you have completed your financial obligation.

What does SymVest do?

SymVest is the legal agent for the investors and has the authority to negotiate or amend loan terms and to pursue recovery of the loan in case the borrower doesn’t pay.

Will I know the investors?

Yes. You’ll be given a list containing the details of the investors who invested.

Can my loan be reassigned?

Yes, under certain conditions investors can assign their interest in the loan to other parties. However, you’ll be notified whenever this happens.

What happens if I miss a payment?

Failing to pay on time could cause your loan to be placed into defaulted status. However, every business has ups and downs along the way. At any time you believe you might not be able to make an upcoming payment, you should contact our dedicated credit specialists to discuss how we might be able to help you.

Can I repay my loan early?

Yes, you can repay your loan in full at any time with no penalty or charge other than the interest due up to the date of your repayment.

What reporting obligations do I have besides making my loan repayments?

You are required to notify SymVest in case anything happens that could prevent you from repaying your loan. While your loan is outstanding you’ll have to provide copies of your financial reports such as VAT, and tax returns.

How do I communicate with investors?

You can prepare a regular newsletter or update and SymVest will distribute that to investors or you may send the information directly.

faq

Invest and grow your savings

Before you invest in Symfonie P2P Notes you should consider the risks of investing and your own personal and financial circumstances. If you’re unsure whether P2P lending is right for you, you should seek independent financial advice before you start. Remember, as you’re lending to businesses your capital is at risk.

We’ve prepared some answers to questions our clients often act. We strongly recommend you to read Investment Terms and Conditions prior to making any investment. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by e-mail or by telephone.

What is a Note?

A Note is a loan. When you purchase a Note you are lending money to the Note Issuer.

Who is the Issuer?

Symfonie P2P Lending Trust is the issuer of the Notes.

Symfonie P2P Lending Trust is a special purpose Trust legally established under the laws of Delaware, USA. The only business the Trust can conduct is investing in P2P loans, bonds and other fixed income instruments.

How does the Trust work?

The Trust borrows money from investors. The Trust invests that money into P2P loans, bonds and other fixed income instruments. The principal and interest the Trust receives from its investments is used to pay principal and interest to the Noteholders.

Does the Trust use leverage?

The Trust can only invest its equity capital plus the loan proceeds from the Noteholders.

How is my investment protected?

All the assets in the Trust are legally the property of the Trust and held for the benefit of the Noteholders. The money cannot be used for any other purpose than to invest in P2P loans, bonds and other fixed income instruments and to repay Noteholders.

Symfonie Capital, LLC, manages the investments of the Trust. Symfonie Capital, LLC is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment advisor.

Is my investment insured?

No. There is no guarantee or insurance.

Can I lose money I invest in the Trust?

Yes. If the loans in which the Trust invests are not repaid the Trust won’t have enough money to repay its Noteholders, so you can lose money.

Does the Trust have a Loan Loss reserve?

Yes! Symfonie Capital LLC and its affiliates placed reserve capital into the Trust. Also, money the Trust earns over and above the interest used to pay Noteholders is maintained as reserve capital in the Trust.

How does the Loan Loss Reserve Work?

The Loan Loss Reserve is a source of cash and investments the Trust can use in order to ensure that payments of interest and principal due to the Noteholders can be made.

Currently the loan loss reserve is 3%. This means that for each $100 the Trust borrows from Noteholders the Trust holds $103 of assets. In practice this means investors don’t lose principal unless at least 3% of the loans the Trust invest in default.

What happens when P2P loans the Trust owns are not repaid?

Each P2P platform where the Trust invests money has its own procedures, but generally speaking, money the Trust invests in loans that are not repaid is lost.

How can I make money even if loans are not repaid?

P2P loans earn interest. So long as the overall portfolio is earning more interest than the percentage of loans that are not repaid, the P2P investor makes money. For example, if a P2P portfolio is earning 10% annually and 2% of the loans are not repaid, the P2P investor still makes about 8%.

How does the Interest Bonus work?

Part of the interest the Trust earns over and above the money used to pay interest and principal to the Noteholders is set aside and held in the Loan Loss Reserve. This is call „excess interest.“ When notes mature 75% of the excess interest earned is paid to the Noteholders as an additional interest payment.

What fees do I pay?

None! There is no fee to charged to purchase notes and there is no fee charged when notes mature.

What happens if I need my money before maturity?

The Trust can only pay to Noteholders the income and principal it is receiving from its investments and there is no secondary market for the Notes. Consequently, one of the risks Noteholders face is that they will only be able to collect their investment back according to the schedule of principal and interest payments for the Notes they are holding.

Can I transfer or sell my Notes?

There is no public market for sale or transfer of the Notes. It is possible for Noteholders to assign, sell or transfer their notes on the basis of a private transaction, provided it is compliant with anti-money launder rules and regulations.

Will I receive reports about my investment?

Of course! Symfonie Capital provides Trust Noteholders a quarterly update about the peformance of the portfolio. The Trust will also provide detail about the amount of interest and principal paid to the Noteholders.

Are the Notes Taxed?

The Trust may be required to withhold tax on distributions of income. Noteholders may benefit from reduced withholding tax according to double taxation treaties. Taxation of income earned will depend upon the Noteholder’s tax jurisdiction. Noteholders are advised to consult a professional tax advisor prior to investing.

How do I invest in the Notes?

download and read materials about the Notes
download the Notes application form
sign, scan and return to Symfonie Capital
once your application is approved you can remit funds via bank transfer

Investment in the Notes is suitable only for investors who have sufficient investment experience and understanding and who are able to accept the risks, including the risk of loss of principal and lack of liquidity. Investors are strongly advised to consult an independent financial professional prior to investing.

How do I fund my investment account?

We accept only bank transfers from bank accounts held in the name of the account owner. When you set up your investment account we will provide you banking instructions.