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Blog/Risk Management

How Many Loans, How Many Borrowers: Reading Your Concentration

How Many Loans, How Many Borrowers: Reading Your Concentration

October 12, 2026⋅7 min read

  • Why does a 100 USD minimum make full diversification impossible at small portfolio sizes?
  • How do you calculate your own borrower concentration?
  • What does it mean when the same borrower appears on the marketplace twice?
  • How does concentration shift as a portfolio grows?
  • What should an investor track to keep their own concentration under control?

With a 100 USD minimum per loan, portfolio concentration depends partly on the amount available to invest: a 500 USD portfolio can hold at most five positions. Growth creates room for more loans, but capital can still gather around the same borrowers, credit ratings, or repayment dates unless those exposures are counted together.

With a 100 USD minimum per loan, portfolio concentration depends partly on the amount available to invest: a 500 USD portfolio can hold at most five positions. Growth creates room for more loans, but capital can still gather around the same borrowers, credit ratings, or repayment dates unless those exposures are counted together.

Why does a 100 USD minimum make full diversification impossible at small portfolio sizes?

500 USD divided by the 100 USD minimum gives five positions, assuming each receives the minimum. With five different borrowers and equal allocations, each accounts for 20% of invested capital. Fewer available projects, repeated borrowers, or a larger allocation to one loan can increase that share.

The limit is structural. Even five separate borrowers may share an industry or repayment period.

8lends sets no platform-wide maximum investment per project; the upper limit is the project's remaining pool. A large borrower exposure can therefore remain within platform rules.

How do you calculate your own borrower concentration?

Calculate borrower concentration using:

Borrower share (%) = Total outstanding principal with that borrower ÷ Total outstanding loan principal in the portfolio × 100

Use figures from the same date, excluding uninvested cash and interest received. Update both totals after principal repayments.

For example, a hypothetical 1,000 USD portfolio can hold at most ten positions at the 100 USD minimum. Suppose it holds ten such positions: two with Borrower A and eight with separate borrowers. Each position represents 10% of the portfolio, but Borrower A’s two loans together account for 200 USD:

Borrower A’s share = 200 USD ÷ 1,000 USD × 100 = 20%

The other eight borrowers account for the remaining 800 USD, or 80%. There are ten positions but only nine borrowers, so treating Borrower A’s exposure as 10% would understate the concentration.

Apply the same formula to an industry, country, rating, or repayment period by adding the outstanding principal in that category and dividing it by the portfolio total. If the loan card does not disclose the industry or country, record it as unknown. The platform operator’s address does not establish the borrower’s country.

What does it mean when the same borrower appears on the marketplace twice?

Two 100 USD positions with the same borrower create 200 USD of exposure while both remain outstanding. A new listing indicates that the borrower has applied again and passed selection for another offering. For an existing investor, it also creates an opportunity to increase an exposure already held.

Is holding two loans from the same borrower a form of concentration?

Yes. Separate contracts, rates, or repayment dates do not create separate borrower identities. Financial trouble at the business can affect its ability to repay both loans, even when their contractual terms differ.

Add existing exposure before assessing the new position. Exclude earlier loans already fully repaid.

Does a repeat borrower carry less risk than a new one?

Repeat status alone does not establish lower risk. Previous repayments can provide useful history, but the business's finances and obligations may have changed. 8lends does not publish whether every repeat application goes through the full due diligence cycle again.

Due diligence can reduce the likelihood of admitting an unreliable borrower; it cannot eliminate default risk. Check the current offering's disclosures.

Two loans with the same borrower are two positions, not two independent risks — their combined share of the portfolio is the number to track, and reappearing on the marketplace is not confirmation that a borrower carries lower risk the second time.

How does concentration shift as a portfolio grows?

Twenty positions can still place most capital in one rating category or repayment window. Repeated choices accumulate: familiar borrowers receive additional allocations, or loans with similar terms become the default selection.

Borrower concentration risk may decline while another concentration rises. Several businesses in one industry can face the same demand shock. Loans in one country can share economic pressures. A cluster of repayment dates makes the investor's expected cash availability depend on several repayments arriving around the same time.

For loan terms of 4–16 months, record scheduled repayment dates too. Equal-duration loans can mature months apart. Grouping loan concentration by calendar month shows when principal is expected back.

What should an investor track to keep their own concentration under control?

Start with one row per position and these seven checks:

  • 1.Borrower identifier or name, consistent across repeat loans.
  • 2.Amount invested and principal still outstanding.
  • 3.Credit rating, AAA–D, recorded at investment.
  • 4.Loan term and scheduled principal repayment date.
  • 5.Borrower industry, if disclosed in the loan card.
  • 6.Borrower country, if disclosed.
  • 7.Periodic recalculation of the largest individual borrower's portfolio share.

8lends does not publish an aggregate platform breakdown by industry, borrower country, or repeat-borrower share. The record above measures the investor's own holdings; it cannot establish how representative they are of the platform's loan book.

How often should an investor recalculate their concentration?

Recalculate after an investment, principal repayment, or completed sale. A monthly review is also a practical habit, rather than a platform requirement. Keep earlier snapshots to see whether the largest exposure is growing.

On the 8lends Secondary Market, only whole positions in the Funded stage can be sold. Partial sales are unsupported, so a single large position cannot be trimmed by half. An investor must sell that position in full if a buyer is found, or retain the claim while awaiting repayment, subject to borrower performance. Where exposure comprises multiple positions, selling one whole eligible position can reduce the combined borrower share.

8lends is operated by CLEARCHAIN CORP, a Canadian company registered with FINTRAC as a Money Services Business (registration No. C100001102). Maclear AG (Switzerland), a member of PolyReg SRO, acts as the independent Collateral Agent — it does not operate the platform, is not its parent company, and does not hold investor funds.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Returns are not guaranteed.

Check your positions and borrowers in the 8lends dashboard

Frequently Asked Questions

There is no fixed number that removes borrower concentration. A 500 USD portfolio can hold at most five positions at the 100 USD minimum, and those positions may include repeated borrowers. Count distinct borrowers and calculate each one's share of outstanding principal. The number of loans alone cannot show where capital is concentrated.

A second loan increases exposure to that borrower while the first remains outstanding. It is not automatically an unsuitable investment, but both positions must be assessed together. Different loan terms do not make the borrower's ability to repay independent across contracts. Calculate the combined share before deciding whether to add more capital.

8lends does not publish an aggregate industry or borrower-country breakdown. Investors can calculate their own allocations from disclosed loan-card details. Missing information should remain labelled unknown. A personal portfolio breakdown describes those holdings, rather than the composition of the platform's entire loan book.

Divide outstanding principal with one borrower by total outstanding loan principal, then multiply by 100. Include every active position with that borrower. Two 100 USD positions in a 1,000 USD portfolio produce a 20% share. The same calculation works for disclosed industries, countries, ratings, and defined repayment periods.

No; growth can repeat existing exposures rather than spread them. New positions may belong to familiar borrowers or cluster in the same rating, industry, country, or repayment period. Compare category shares over time alongside the position count. More loan entries do not necessarily mean a broader distribution of capital.

No; the 8lends Secondary Market supports whole positions in the Funded stage, without partial sales. A sale depends on finding a buyer. If exposure consists of several positions, selling one eligible position in full can reduce the borrower total, but an individual position cannot be divided for that purpose.

Risk Management⋅ Oct 12, 2026

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Do You Have Any Questions?

All questions

The platform has been audited by CertiK and Cyberscope, and all transactions are publicly visible on the Base blockchain. Two companies with clear responsibilities stand behind the platform: CLEARCHAIN CORP operates the platform and is registered as a Money Services Business with FINTRAC (Canada), and Maclear AG conducts due diligence and monitors collateral. So the platform is well regulated, transparent and accountable

If the project has BuyBack, the partner buys the loan and returns 100% of the principal once it is overdue for 60 days or more. Without BuyBack, Maclear AG initiates the sale of the collateral, and the proceeds are distributed proportionally among investors. Since launch there have been no defaults

The platform is operated by CLEARCHAIN CORP, registered in Canada as a Money Services Business (MSB) and subject to mandatory AML/CFT compliance requirements under FINTRAC. Settlements are made in USD. The platform is not a CASP, so DAC8 requirements do not apply

Small and medium-sized businesses in developing regions do not have easy access to bank financing and are willing to pay higher rates than businesses in the EU or US

You can sell your position to another investor through the Secondary Market before the end of the loan term. With Fastlending there is no fixed term: the principal and accrued income can be withdrawn at any time

The minimum investment is 100 USD

Risk of non-payment by the business, risk of changes in the value of the collateral, risk of limited liquidity if there is no buyer on the Secondary Market, and technical risk associated with the smart contract

Investments from 100 to 500 USD are available without KYC. For amounts over 500 USD, full verification is required: an identity document and proof of address

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