The document provides insights into personal loan trends and benchmarks for improving personal loan applications. Some key points: - Over half of personal loan borrowers are ages 55+ and 35-54, borrowing most for debt consolidation, medical expenses, and auto purchases. Interest rates and fees are top factors considered. - Benchmark trends include using plain language, transparency about timelines and repayment, and streamlined, efficient applications that ask for minimal upfront information. - Top competitors generally request less information upfront and ask about loan needs before personal details. Interactive tools could add value by engaging visitors and allowing deposit of approved loans directly into savings.

1. Personal Loan Insights
It’s Business and It’s Personal
Insights Team

2. Agenda
• Emergent Trends
• How are users spending?
• What are the top factors users consider?
• Who are the borrowers we want to serve
• How has the market changed, and how does that effect what we build?
• Who are the top competitors in personal loans why are they successful
• Benchmark One: Engaging Tone
• Benchmark Two: Transparent and Responsive process
• Benchmark Three: Streamlined Application
• Benchmark Four: Interactive Design Elements that Add Value

3. Emergent Trends
Who’s borrowing?
• Nearly 54 percent of adults age 55 and over stated
they had taken out a personal loan
• 49 percent of individuals age 35 to 54
• 36 percent of those age 18 to 34
• Consumers who are perceived to be in a healthier
financial state – (Source: Discover Personal Loans
survey, 2016)
Why are they borrowing?
• Debt Consolidation
• Interest Rate Reduction
• Major Purchase Financing
• Credit Building

4. Debt
Consolidation
13%
Home
Improvement
14%
Medical
Expenses
20%
Vacation
2%
Wedding
2%
School Tuition
7%
Something
Else
6%
Purchases
for Auto
36%
How are Users Spending their
Personal Loan?
Source: Discover Loans Survey 2016

5. Most Important Factor in
Choosing a Lender
0% 14% 28% 42% 56% 70%
Interest Rate
Fees
Trust in lender
Ease of application
Loan amount
Something else
Not sure
18-34 35-54 55+
Source: BusinessWire.com

6. “When I got a new apartment,
furnishing it was a major problem. A
PL helped me fill in the gaps with
some larger pieces"
“I didn’t want my mother to
feel bad about not being
able to help with my
wedding. So I told her I
could handle most of it.”
I wanted this great
old bike but was
wary of dipping into
my savings
Who are these new PL
Borrowers? Can PenFed Help
them tell their story?

7. A Changing Landscape

8. The Market
Payoff
Avant
PNC
Wells Fargo
TD Bank
Lending Club
Navy Federal
Alliant Credit Union
Discover Personal Loans

9. Benchmark One: Engaging Tone
• The words “Friend,” and “Friendly” became a theme when talking
to users: How do we change the environment around money
lending?
• Industry Trends
• Plain Language, “How much do you need?” VS “Loan Amount.”
• Reasonable requests: “What will I need upfront?”

11. Benchmark Two: Transparancy &
Responsiveness
• How long will this take?
• Success Trends "10 to 15 minutes”
• When and how will I receive my funds?
• Success Trends "Within 72 hours, in Users bank account"
• What are the terms of repayment?
• Success Trends "Let me decide how I pay you back."
• Post decision action. Email/Welcome packet/ What’s next?

13. Benchmark Three: Streamlined,
Simple Application
• Are we being efficient with the data we collect?
• The team has seen applications vary from
chunking, sliding, and single page scroll.
• Are third-party vendors like Docu-sign and
Equifax affected by changes in the application?

14. Application Clarity

15. Market Analysis
• Who we analyzed
• Overall Trends
• Barriers to Entry
• Finding the sweet spot

16. Top Personal Loan Lenders
PenFed’s Personal
Loan App
• Navy FCU
• CitiBank
• PNC
• Discovery
• Payoff.com
vs.
How do we compare?

17. Overall Trends: Competitors
Request Far Less Information
Information not requested within the app from start → submit compared to PenFed:
• Loan type
• Employer address/location/contact*
• Number of vehicles/dependents
• Loan payment & maturity dates
• Loan insurance offer
• Repayment method*
* Exception of CitiBank

18. Overall Trend: Loan Info Before About You
• Hypothesis: customers like being asked how
we can help them first
Let’s help you determine
what amount and term
would be best for you.
→
Please tell us about
yourself.
THEN
Proposal:
Existing: Please provide personal
info. →
THEN
What loan amount and
term would you like?
Why? Customers want to feel attended to immediately; that we are listening & eager to
fulfill their financial needs.

20. Barriers to Entry
* = Discovery & Payoff.com
Navy FCU: High
- Membership hurdle
+ Established trust
+ Allows for basic information gathered pre-application
CitiBank: Medium
- Requires an existing relationship and online profile before applying
+ Allows for basic information gathered pre-application
PNC, Discovery, & Payoff.com: Low
+ Anyone can apply without existing relationship
+ Soft credit pull for qualification*
- Basic information needed
- Low trust

21. Finding the Sweet Spot
Balance:
• Credit Union Membership Requirement
• Rapid application
• Friendly and clear tone
Eliminate what isn’t needed/combine fields where possible
Match user mental models
• Does this belong between application start → submit?
---- If so, what order makes sense?
---- If not, does this belong on the product page or post-loan decision?

22. Benchmark Four: Include Elements
that Add Value
• Turning one time visitors into engaged members
• Interactive design elements: Loan calculators, Interest + Term SliderScales
• Ability to deposit approved loan directly into savings account

23. Elements that Add Value

24. Now let’s give the people
what they want.
Questions?