Peer2Peer Finance Awards judging panel revealed
The judging panel for the forthcoming Peer2Peer Finance Awards has been revealed.
Former RateSetter boss Rhydian Lewis, Innovate Finance chief executive Janine Hirt (pictured) and Neil Faulkner, chief executive and head of research at 4th Way, will assess the nominations for each award category, whittling down the contenders into a series of shortlists before choosing an overall winner.
The winners will be announced on Tuesday 6 December at London’s Hurlingham Club.
Read more: Awards response highlights P2P excellence
All three judges were chosen for their in-depth knowledge of the UK’s P2P lending sector, from a variety of different perspectives.
Lewis is a P2P veteran who co-founded RateSetter in 2010, before growing it into one of the top three lending platforms in the UK.
In 2020, RateSetter was acquired by Metro Bank in a deal worth £12m, and since then the RateSetter brand has reached profitability for the first time while growing its loanbook to more than £1bn.
Lewis is now managing director of consumer finance at Metro Bank, where he oversees the challenger bank’s entire consumer lending business.
Read more: The Peer2Peer Finance Awards – 6 December 2022!
Lewis said that as an independent judge for the Peer2Peer Finance Awards, he is most looking forward to seeing how P2P has developed in the two years since RateSetter left the sector.
Janine Hirt is a fintech expert who has been a champion of P2P lending over the years.
In her role as chief executive of Innovate Finance, she has lobbied the government on behalf of all fintech lenders and spoken out about the stringent new P2P regulations which have been introduced over the past few years.
She told Peer2Peer Finance News that this is the right time to celebrate P2P lending, and “to commend all these inspiring changemakers” in the sector.
Meanwhile, Faulkner has maintained a birds-eye view of the P2P sector through his work at ratings and analysis firm 4th Way.
Since 2014, 4th Way has tracked the performance of the UK’s P2P lending platforms, assigning ratings based on their risk modelling, expertise, customer care and track record.