Following the announcement of the Chancellor's mini-budget, the jury remains hung on whether the bold move was a positive one for fintech.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released new rules for banking business lenders regarding APR transparency and pricing; the CMA has confirmed that P2P lenders will be exempt from its new banking rules; despite the exemption, it is likely that the new rules will cause more P2P lenders to provide greater APR transparency in order to maintain market competitiveness. Source
In December 2016 real estate P2P lender Wellesley began a fundraising campaign on Seedrs and also received a First Gazette notice for late accounts; a recent report from the Financial Times says the company is dependent on raising new capital in order to stay in business; its Seedrs campaign is targeting 1.5 million British pounds ($1.85 million) and has raised 195,000 British pounds ($240,280). Source
Kevin Caley from ThinCats writes on the evolution of the P2P lending industry and why financial advisers should consider the investment for their clients; reports on the industry's growth and the comparable returns of the product; notes the introduction of the IFISA as a factor for greater investment and increased acceptance from financial advisers. Source
Abundance sold 72% of all Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) products in the last year; this represented 62% of investment into the new product overall; while the P2P lender is happy with their success they realize their market lead will diminish as they were one of a few platforms approved in the last year; a host of other platforms, including top lender Zopa, have been approved recently and the numbers are sure to be more widely spread out among a larger group of platforms; Bruce Davis, co-founder and joint managing director of Abundance, tells AltFi, "Abundance's success is very much the good news part of the Innovative Finance ISA story to date." Source
UK-based mobile banking app Monese raised $10 million in funding from Anthemis Exponential Ventures, Korea Investment Partners and STE Capital; funds will be used to expand into continental Europe and to offer new credit and direct debit services; since launching in 2015 the company has signed up 40,000 customers from 179 countries who have made 1.8 million transactions; total dollars transacted is over $180 million. Source
Back in 2011 I covered the news of the very first industry trade association to launch globally. The P2P Finance...
Wellesley has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs; firm is seeking to raise 1.5 million British pounds; plans to use the funds for business expansion, marketing, human resources and technology development; in 2016, firm has raised 80 million British pounds primarily from multi-unit real estate property development loans; sources have also reported that the company has received a First Gazette notice for late accounts. Source
P2P Finance News breaks down the projected returns of marketplace lending platforms in the UK; notes that business and property lending platforms offer the highest projected returns. Source
P2P property lending has been providing steady returns in the UK, according to a report from rating agency, 4thWay; since 2013, UK P2P property lenders have lent £1.6 billion with returns ranging from 2.25% to 12.7%; lenders in the category have achieved success through thorough underwriting processes with maximum loan to value ratios of 70% to 80% and most loans secured by the property. Source