The marketplace lending sector in Australia is buzzing with interest but barely humming with genuine lending, if data canvassed at an industry forum yesterday is any guide. A standing room only, one day forum in Sydney drew crowds of mostly recent start-ups in the fashionable fintech niche that is marketplace lending.Data compiled by AltFi.com, the forum's hosts, put lending by the sector at around A$250 million.Few of the sector's CEOs strutting before an audience of rivals and bankers felt free to share much data on the progress of their business. Daniel Foggo, CEO of RateSetter Australia, was a rarity.  The firm has made around 1700 loans with only one default so far. But RateSetter rejects more than 90 per cent of loan applicants, Foggo said. Leo Tyndall, principal of Marketlend, said his firm had made advances so far of $3.3 million, pointing out the firm now updated lending data regularly at its website.John de Bree, managing director, Australia of Capify, on the sidelines said his firm was lending in excess of $50 million a year locally.David Goldin, CEO of Capify US, made clear that the firm, which began lending in Australia before the financial crisis and is thus an old hand, considers itself a "balance sheet lender" with institutional funding and a preference for "short duration" loans.More recent start ups are aiming high. One, MoneyPlace, has commitments of $60 million from Auswide Bank, very little of which has borrowers queued.Toby Triebel, CEO of UK headquartered SpotCap, said business was "going very well, going better than expected. We are growing very fast, month on month, but it's still very small relative to the opportunity."