Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana is bracing for a “moment of truth” for the peer-to-peer lending industry, which Zopa has led since its founding in 2005. As a consumer lender, the company is correlated to broad economic trends, and is perhaps most intensely sensitive to rates of employment. As a marketplace it is also subject to the whims of retail and institutional investors. Janardana says that the survival of at least “three, four of the big players” in p2p lending will be a “huge proof point” for the industry; but anything less than that “might create some doubts.” Janardana concludes, “either it will show naysayers the resilience of the model or be cataclysmic for many firms.” AltFi
