FIVE million people over the age of 50 are expected to open a new ISA in 2017, research has found. The older generation is still relatively risk averse, despite historically low interest rates, with almost half of respondents planning to open a tax-free account opting for a cash ISA. A third said they would consider […]
TWO THIRDS of UK small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) said their confidence in the economy has stayed the same or increased over the past year, despite concerns about Brexit. The Barclays business sentiment survey found that 47 per cent of small businesses expect their confidence in the UK economy to stay the same in 2017, […]
M&A EXPERTS Peter Secher, chief executive of Fixcorp, and Alan Plaugmann, Fixcorp partner, explain why banks and fintech firms have to start working together Everyone knows that fintech and banking make the perfect partnership. Today there are many more google-hits on “fintech partnering” than ”fintech disruption”. The lines are starting to blur between innovation-heavy fintech […]
SECURED peer-to-peer business loans platform Folk2Folk is planning to launch its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) in the coming weeks and will lower its minimum investment threshold for the product. The P2P lender received Financial Conduct Authority authorisation at the end of last year. A spokesperson told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that it received ISA manager status from HMRC earlier […]
BRICKS Finance, a development finance peer-to-peer lender, is hoping to boost its partnerships with brokers after receiving full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). While many P2P platforms have used full FCA authorisation as a step to achieving ISA manager status, Bricks’ co-founder Jerry Rihll said the firm was not planning to launch an Innovative Finance ISA. “This […]
KFW, the German state-backed bank that last year invested in Funding Circle’s £129m securitisation, is open to more deals in the peer-to-peer finance sector in 2017. The development bank bought £44m of the most senior tranche of business loans, which were owned by US asset manager KLS and originated through Funding Circle’s platform. Last month, […]
· £3bn lent out by platforms · Funding Circle breaks through the £100m mark · UK market could be worth £35.5bn by 2025 THE UK’S largest peer-to-peer lending platforms saw record growth last year, as commentators predict that 2017 will be “make or break” for the industry. The eight members of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA), […]
ASSETZ Capital announced that it has now lent out £200m to businesses, after a record year of growth for the peer-to-peer lender. The Stockport-headquartered firm, which helps small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and property developers find funding, lent over £45m in the last quarter of 2016, bringing the year’s total lending volume up to £108m. […]
CROWDSTACKER is planning to launch a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) wrapper for its peer-to-peer loans this year. Mark Bristow, co-founder of Crowdstacker, told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that the platform is in talks with a pension trustee about offering a low-cost product. “P2P loans can be held within a SIPP structure but it can be hard to […]
THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority’s chief executive Andrew Bailey is still relatively new to the role but he’s already made waves in the peer-to-peer finance sector. He talks to Peer-to-Peer Finance News about managing innovation with regulation at a pivotal time for the industry Andrew Bailey isn’t exactly a cheerleader of peer-to-peer lending. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief […]
OCTOPUS Choice has been approved as an ISA manager by HMRC and is planning on launching its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) later this year, Peer-to-Peer Finance News can reveal. The peer-to-peer lender, which was spun out of Octopus Investments last April, said it is planning on launching the product solely for new customers to begin […]
LENDING volumes among the UK’s major peer-to-peer lending platforms increased by two thirds in 2016, pushing the cumulative total above £7bn, industry data reveals. Figures from trade body the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA), show its eight members collectively lent £843m in the fourth quarter of 2016, taking lending for the whole year to £2.9bn. This means that cumulative lending across P2PFA members […]
THE WORLD Economic Forum may be the go-to place for political leaders to rub shoulders but fintech trade body Innovate Finance is making sure its bustling sector gets heard in Davos. The organisation has taken a delegation including peer-to-peer lender Zopa and other technology companies such as Bankable, Bitfury, Deposit Solutions, iwoca, Scalable Capitaland Yoyo Wallet, […]
INFLATION hit a two-year high in December 2016, rising to 1.6 per cent, official figures have revealed. The main contributors to the increase were rises in air fares and the price of food, but this will leave many savers struggling to get decent returns from traditional financial products and increase speculation of an interest rate […]
THE NUMBER of people applying for short-term loans in the first week of January doubled compared to the same period last month, reveals new research. 49 per cent of UK adults in full-time employment regularly exceed their monthly budget, while one in four have no ‘rainy day’ money set aside for unexpected costs, according to the survey […]