AltFi reports on recent developments affecting the marketplace lending industry; discusses challenges at RateSetter and platform changes at Zopa and Funding Circle; also notes that UK regulators may be seeking increased transparency through new regulations; argues against criticism that platforms are struggling for borrowers and shows origination volume growth since 2005. Source
The company's revenue increased from GBP20.6 million ($26.38 million) in 2015 to GBP33.2 million ($42.52 million) in 2016; its earnings also improved with a GBP -5.8 million (-$7.43 million) loss versus GBP -8.8 million (-$11.27 million) in 2015 and the company reported a fourth quarter operating profit; the 2016 results also showed loan originations increasing by 30% to GBP689 million ($882.4 million) in 2016. Source
Zopa was the industry's first peer-to-peer lending platform, launching in the UK in 2005; Lend Academy talks with Jaidev Janardana from Zopa about his role as CEO over the past 18 months and how the business is changing with the firm's new banking initiative; Zopa will be taking advantage of some unique market opportunities with its banking services; the firm will not be offering current accounts but plans to integrate open banking to provide its clients more offerings beyond borrowing and lending. Source
Zopa's Jaidev Janardana spoke at AltFi Europe this week on the firm's plans for building a bank; he provides insight in a blog post; the bank will build on Zopa's successful track record in lending with new savings accounts and credit product but the firm will not offer a current account; the UK has been dominant in challenger bank development and the Zopa bank will provide UK customers with another alternative banking option which is currently in high demand in the region; the above chart highlights the competitive advantages Zopa has in the market. Source
Giles Andrews launched Zopa, the industry's first peer-to-peer lending platform, in 2005; he has now taken on a new role as the chairman of MarketInvoice; MarketInvoice provides P2P financing for small business invoices giving them an alternative source for working capital; Giles Andrews will help the firm scale its business and reach its 2017 goal of 2 billion British pounds ($2.48 billion) in lending. Source
Zopa will reduce its high risk loan exposure following reports on the UK market's consumer credit outlook; data shows consumer defaults and insolvency levels are increasing; the firm says it will seek to target more low risk borrowers; the changes will allow it to offer higher returns in some of its leading products; the company plans to publish a monthly blog post with its perspective on the consumer credit market. Source
Zopa has made updates to its loan pricing valuations after recently reporting technical issues; affected investors will be receiving refunds based on the updated calculations; the firm says that it has resolved any issues and is reporting monthly loan volumes of GBP80 million ($104 million). Source
Funding Circle and Zopa both discussed the rationale for becoming a bank at the AltFi Europe Summit; Funding Circle's Samir Desai talked about three ways online lenders are collaborating with banks and said, "We at Funding Circle have no plans to launch a bank."; comparatively, Zopa is taking the opposite approach and Jaidev Janardana discussed the firm's bank expansion, noting that the firm will be focusing on savings deposit accounts and will be using deposits to fund loans. Source
Zopa launched its Plus product one year ago; the Plus product is the firm's highest risk and highest return offering; investors are reporting a 6% short-term return for the loan investments which fall in two additional risk categories: D and E; since introduced the platform has lent more than 100 million British pounds ($124 million) from approximately 9,000 investors. Source
The marketplace lending industry's first peer-to-peer lender has created a waiting list for new investors and is currently only accepting funds from existing investors; the investor waiting list began on March 9 and follows the previous halting of new money from all investors on its platform in December; the waiting list is another effort to keep processing times down; demand for loans on the platform was higher in February as more investors identified the loan investments for their high yields among other regional alternatives; Zopa has reported plans for expansion to secured car loans and is also continuing with its plans for launching a digital bank. Source