P2P platforms deliver Rishi Sunak’s Q1 performance review
It has been three months since Rishi Sunak (pictured) was promoted from chief secretary to the Treasury, to Chancellor of the Exchequer.
As he completes his first quarter in the hotseat, we asked a few peer-to-peer platforms to deliver his performance review – from his first Budget in March, to his leadership during the ongoing lockdown.
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In short – most P2P platforms believe it’s difficult to judge him given the tough hand that he’s been dealt. But although he has been performing well under pressure, there is a sense that more can be done.
“It’s difficult to judge him,” said Atuksha Poonwassie, co-founder and managing director of Simple Crowdfunding.
“That first quarter has just been fighting fires and isn’t a normal environment at all and so I’d struggle to talk about his performance because it’s such an unusual environment.”
David Bradley-Ward, chief executive of Ablrate, has been a vocal critic of Sunak.
He believes that the forecasted recession is because of Sunak’s poor handling of the crisis, arguing he that didn’t get his coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) out early and quickly enough to businesses that need support.
However, Daniel Rajkumar, founder and managing director of Rebuildingsociety, said that while it will take a long time for the nation to recover, Sunak is giving his all as Chancellor.
“The Chancellor could have done a lot worse,” he said.
“I think Sunak is doing his level best to help but it is a really difficult job and for some businesses it won’t be enough and will be too late.”
Yann Murciano, founder and chief executive of Blend Network, said that Sunak entered the job at an incredibly difficult time, but so far has adopted the right measures.
“He has essentially stopped the bleeding,” he said.
“But now once the bleeding has stopped and as more clarity emerges on the exit strategy from the lockdown, it is also time to start thinking about the medium- to long-term recovery. Markets will be watching very carefully because now is his chance to support economic recovery.”
Mike Bristow, chief executive of CrowdProperty, agreed that it is hard to judge Sunak at this time and said that there has been pros and cons from the Chancellor’s performance.
“I think there’s no right answer, that’s the challenge,” he said.
“I think leveraging fintech quicker, sooner and more has been a missed opportunity, but I think some of the schemes he’s come up with are well thought through.
“I think the job retention scheme is an excellent scheme in this environment and I think in many of the schemes the government has really considered taxpayer value for money.
“It’s a tough situation and he’s gotten on with things. His schemes have been really well thought through in general and the challenges have been more around delivery.”