FUNDINGSECURE has limited premium and discount rates on loans in its secondary market to a maximum of one per cent, to eliminate “inappropriate trading”. The peer-to-peer pawnbroking platform informed investors of the change – which came into effect this week – in its latest monthly newsletter. “With the growth in the platform (including IFISA accounts) […]
GLOBAL bitcoin peer-to-peer lending platform Bitbond has received a €5m (£4.2m) commitment from Obotritia Capital to fund small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans. The Potsdam-based investment firm, which usually channels its funds into German commercial real estate, has also bought an equity stake in Bitbond, although the terms of that deal were not disclosed. Read more: […]
PEER-TO-PEER funding specialist F&P has hired a green energy consultant to boost its business in that borrower market, ahead of its possible lending platform launch this summer. The firm, which finds P2P lending partners for small borrowers and advises both parties through the funding process, brought former Merrill Lynch investment manager and director Edward Williams […]
AROUND one third of money placed into Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISA) on individual platforms in the previous tax year was from transfers rather than new money, figures indicate. Platforms have suggested this shows savers are ditching low-paying cash ISAs for the higher returns yielded from an IFISA. “While our average account size for IFISAs is […]
GROWTH Street has unveiled a new analytic tool for its small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) borrowers to help shield them from cash flow blips. The alternative business lender currently offers a free cash flow forecasting tool and other analysis products to help clients manage their finances better, but recently told Peer2Peer Finance News it was preparing to roll […]
RATESETTER’S Australian division has welcomed the country’s banking reforms unveiled in the Federal Budget on Tuesday. Changes imposed in the major fiscal event include a bumper levy on the country’s biggest banks, an “open banking” scheme to give customers greater access to their banking data and measures to boost competition and accountability in the sector. The […]
UK PEER-TO-PEER lending platforms are poised to shift towards hybrid models to stay afloat, a financial services think tank claimed on Monday. The P2P industry has re-shaped the country’s small corporate funding and investment market, putting pressure on traditional lenders to step up their game, said the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation. But it […]
LATE payments from suppliers totalling £266bn are straining UK small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)’ ability to grow and create up to 3.4 million new jobs, new research suggests. 15 per cent of the SME sector’s average annual turnover is stuck in the payment chain, according to a survey of over 1,000 firms commissioned by supply chain […]
FORMER financial ombudsman chief Natalie Ceeney CBE has been announced as the new chairman of Innovate Finance, at a time of heightened focus on the UK fintech sector as one of the key areas for the government’s post-Brexit strategy. Ceeney (pictured) will replace Alastair Lukies CBE at the association’s top seat, bringing critical consumer-services and […]
ARCHOVER’S chief executive has called for a change in mind-set around debt as a tool for growth, after new data showed that poor consumer demand and rising cost pressures have weighed on British businesses. The BDO monthly business trends indices, which collate the results of all the main UK business surveys, found that optimism in […]
PEER-TO-PEER and direct lending specialist Basset & Gold has launched two “pensioner bonds”, giving senior Brits access to higher yields while guaranteeing them a fixed monthly return rate. The firm, which provides exposure to P2P platforms’ loans, property deals, balance sheet lending and other forms of finance, is offering the new products to individuals over the […]
UK SMALL- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturers are going full steam ahead, posting their highest level of export orders and output growth in six years, new research shows. International orders surged by 20 per cent in the three months to April, the fastest pace since April 2011. This was followed by a 19 per cent jump […]
ROBUST technology is more important than ever, say peer-to-peer lending platforms, as they invest in their systems to maintain their advantage over traditional financial services players. A number of firms are developing new technologies in order to improve their customer service, but most admit that the occasional glitch is an inevitable risk for a fintech […]
LENDING CLUB posted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss on Thursday but raised its revenue forecast for the full year, as chief executive Scott Sanborn restated his ambition to return the company to growth within one year from his predecessor’s departure. The scandal-struck US peer-to-peer lender reported a two per cent per-share loss in the first quarter, which compares […]
ASSETZ Capital has seen more than £10m of new money invested in its 30-day access account in just three weeks, thanks to its promotional interest rate hike that ends on 11 May. The peer-to-peer lender bucked the industry trend of falling interest rates last month by hiking returns on the account for a limited time […]