Peer-to-peer lending triggered watchdog fears as early as 2016 PEER-TO-PEER FEARS Peer-to-peer lending had raised concerns for the City watchdog as early as 2016, and was subjected of debate within the FCA over emails.
Zopa pulls out of P2P consumer lending as it blames cowboy firms for ‘damaging customer trust’ Breaking this a.m. Peer-to-peer giant Zopa has started to inform customers it is closing down its P2P consumer investment division, transferring its loan portfolio to its relatively new bank unit. In an email to customers, Natasha Wear, peer-to-peer CEO at Zopa, wrote that “after 16 years of peer-to-peer consumer investments at Zopa, we’ve taken the difficult decision to [...]
Sunday Sitdown: ‘Skittish’ banks need to up their game, says CEO of Ezbob Sunday Sitdown: 'Skittish' banks need to up their game, says lending boss Following a nightmare year that was hugely disrupted by the pandemic and three subsequent lockdowns, the City is slowly switching into recovery mode as the economy starts to re-open and many sectors are coming back to life. To discuss the way back up, City A.M. sits down with Tomer Guriel, chief executive of Marble Arch-based [...]
Exclusive: ‘Banks should deliver the same experience as Amazon and Netflix’, says Ezbob CEO January 21, 2021 After a year that was hugely disrupted by Covid-19 and the entire economy and its workforce moved online, City A.M. sat down with Tomer Guriel, CEO of Mayfair-based Ezbob, which provides digital lending software to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the City. A vaccine is being rolled out, so the City [...]
Guarantor lender Amigo flags going concern uncertainty as Covid-19 bites November 26, 2020 London-based subprime lender Amigo reported a 36.5 per cent fall in first half revenues and flagged “material uncertainty” about its future operations, citing worries over the pandemic, complaint volumes and the outcome of an ongoing regulatory investigation. The company, which saw revenues drop to £92.3m over the six months to end-September, also posted a pretax [...]
Funding Circle losses deepen as pandemic hits peer-to-peer lending momentum September 24, 2020 Funding Circle’s operating losses more than tripled in the first half of the year as the coronavirus pandemic hit its peer-to-peer lending business. The lender, which matches borrowers with retail and institutional investors, reported an operating loss of £113.5m for the six months to 30 June, more than three times the £31.3m loss it posted [...]
Peer-to-peer lender Zopa launches digital bank after receiving full licence June 24, 2020 Zopa is launching a new digital bank after receiving its full banking licence, the British peer-to-peer lender announced today. The peer-to-peer loan sector has come under pressure from increased regulatory scrutiny and weakening demand from investors, placing pressure on firms to diversify their revenue streams. Zopa first announced plans to pursue a second revenue stream [...]
Funding Circle to lay off 125 workers in Amsterdam and Berlin March 12, 2020 Funding Circle will lay off 125 workers in Amsterdam and Berlin as British the peer-to-peer lender retreats from Europe to its more profitable home market. The lender will maintain a staff of 25 based in London to run its German and Dutch businesses, chief executive Samir Desai told Reuters, with the divisions focusing on partnering [...]
Funding Circle: Finance chief quits small business lender January 27, 2020 The chief financial officer of small business lending platform Funding Circle is stepping down. Sean Glithero will leave the lender later this year, Funding Circle said. He will be replaced by Oliver White, who is currently chief financial officer of Provident Financial’s credit card unit, Vanquis Bank. Funding Circle’s platform, which has around 80,000 investors, [...]
Peer-to-peer lender Fundingsecure enters administration October 23, 2019 Peer-to-peer investment and lending platform Fundingsecure has gone into administration, the financial regulator announced. Fundingsecure operated a peer-to-peer lending platform that facilitated crowdfunded loans and pawn-broking style loans secured against valuable items. In a statement on the company’s website, Fundingsecure said its board of directors had resolved to place the firm into administration today. CG [...]