The UK government has been one of the most forward thinking governments in the world when it comes to fintech;...
The UK government has told P2P lenders that wholesale lending does not count under the current regulations and the practice is too risky for retail investors; wholesale lending is when you lend money to a business who then lends that money out; the FCA said, "this would mimic banking – but without the same protection for individuals or regulations for the firms involved"; P2P lender RateSetter started to wind down their wholesale loan book after getting more clarity from the FCA in December; the FCA still hasn't provided full clarity on the subject, but they are at least beginning to give more insight so lenders know where the boundaries are. Source
The UK's Department for Media, Culture and Sport has published a digital strategy report outlining its plans for the tech sector post-Brexit; the government plans to invest 17.3 million British pounds ($21.27 million) into artificial intelligence and robotics research and also reported a 1 billion British pound ($1.23 billion) program to improve internet connectivity across the UK; it will also create five international tech hubs, host a competition for fintech products and create a forum for communicating with the tech community; all of its efforts are geared towards helping the UK remain competitive in the tech industry. Source
Chancellor Hammond and the newly established fintech delivery panel will meet in February to discuss the fintech industry; the group's purpose is to drive fintech specific policy recommendations for the UK; 24 industry experts will attend the February meeting including representatives from Funding Circle, Seedrs and MarketInvoice; on April 12 the UK government will also hold the International FinTech Conference in London to connect domestic and international investors with the UK's fintech market. Source
The measure would give the Bank of England more power over failed stablecoin issuers.
The new Financial Services and Markets Bill, announced in the Queen's speech, is designed to shore up the country’s cash infrastructure for the long term.
P2PGI will be increasing its allocation to asset-backed loans in its investment trust; the firm will primarily focus on secured real estate loans however it will also be increasing its allocation to invoice credit lending and other secured lending investments; the increased focus on secured loans follows a previous announcement on targeting UK originated loans. Source
Their website mentions names such as 'digital sterling' or 'Britcoin' and emphasizes the difference between CBCDs and cryptocurrencies.
UK consumer lender Lending Works has lent over GBP50 million ($62.68 million) to UK consumers, also reporting over 10,000 clients; the firm's success has been helped by the launch of its innovative finance individual savings account which reported investments of approximately GBP1.5 million ($1.88 million) in the first 24 hours and has accumulated investments of over GBP8.8 million ($11.04 million) since February 2017; the firm's chief executive says it expects to reach originations of GBP100 million ($125.36 million) very soon; business growth is also expected to be helped by a new loan offering partnership with Revolut. Source
According to data from AltFi, the UK has reported a new record high for alternative loan origination volume; loan origination volume in the UK surpassed 100 million British pounds ($123.53 million) in November; previous high was in November 2015; numerous UK marketplace lending platforms have reported record high origination volume in November including Assetz Capital and Funding Circle. Source