ilmoro
Member of DD Central
'Wondering which of the bu***rs to blame, and watching for pigs on the wing.' - Pink Floyd
Posts: 10,840
Likes: 11,068
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Post by ilmoro on Jun 14, 2020 20:17:14 GMT
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jeremy12
Member of DD Central
Everything's frozen
Posts: 83
Likes: 38
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Post by jeremy12 on Jun 14, 2020 20:28:35 GMT
I wonder if other p2p will be taken over this year
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Post by oppsididitagain on Jun 14, 2020 20:47:58 GMT
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Post by scepticalinvestor on Jun 14, 2020 21:40:49 GMT
Interesting suitor. Metro Bank is in a world of trouble of its own, I wouldn't have expected it to be bidding for RS.
"The price that Metro Bank would pay for Ratesetter was unclear, although one insider said the high street lender would be taking it over at "a knockdown valuation"."
If this actually pans out next month, I wonder what the implications are (if any) for those of us with Access funds locked in for the foreseeable future.
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gg
Posts: 83
Likes: 61
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Post by gg on Jun 14, 2020 22:19:12 GMT
‘...None of its investors had lost money...’
I really hope that RS can maintain that claim. Anyone investing immediately pre-virus, in any market other than Access, stands a good chance of losing some of their investment (Exit fee greater than interest earned).
gg
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Post by oppsididitagain on Jun 15, 2020 5:56:35 GMT
If they are bought by Metro bank, will the platform become FSCS protected ?
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Post by webbski9 on Jun 15, 2020 6:28:20 GMT
Its why Metro have been rising lately.They want to expand their loan book .Fingers crossed .Like the idea that we become protected with Bank Status
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elliotn
Member of DD Central
Posts: 3,063
Likes: 2,681
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Post by elliotn on Jun 15, 2020 6:29:59 GMT
METRO BANK PLC Response to Press Speculation 15 June 2020: Metro Bank PLC (the "Company") notes the recent press speculation regarding a potential acquisition of Retail Money Market LTD and its subsidiaries ("RateSetter"). The Company regularly assesses various opportunities in the market and accordingly confirms that it has entered in to a period of exclusivity with RateSetter, but discussions regarding the potential acquisition are at an early stage. RateSetter is a UK focused peer-to-peer lender whose distribution platform could accelerate the Company's stated strategy to grow its unsecured consumer lending book. There can be no certainty at this stage that a formal agreement will be reached, nor as to the terms of any agreement. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.
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Post by gar on Jun 15, 2020 6:43:24 GMT
If they are bought by Metro bank, will the platform become FSCS protected ? Indeed, I would gladly accept a reduction in interest rates to high street bank levels providing it protected my capital.
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tjtl
Posts: 232
Likes: 351
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Post by tjtl on Jun 15, 2020 7:01:22 GMT
It is not greatly surprising that Ratesetter is the first of the established P2P platforms to new the subject of real takeover interest. It is , in my view, one of the best run- any buyer will be able to carry out pretty effective and fast due diligence and will be able to carry out a transaction- if they want to do one- with their eyes wide open. Metro need to get back on a growth path, the price for RS is probably not a lot, so this could be a transaction where we (the lenders through the RS platform) , and Metro (the buyers of the platform) both end up as winners- and with luck someone like Rhydian (who I have a lot of time for)can have a stellar career pithing Metro Bank (they are not exactly blessed with an abundance of home-grown entrepreneurial management talent). Early stages of discussion, but the fact that Metro had to put out a confirmatory RNS this morning shows there is real substance to this.
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iRobot
Member of DD Central
Posts: 1,656
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Post by iRobot on Jun 15, 2020 7:50:10 GMT
If they are bought by Metro bank, will the platform become FSCS protected ? Its why Metro have been rising lately.They want to expand their loan book .Fingers crossed .Like the idea that we become protected with Bank Status I think FSCS cover for RS' regulated activities is wishful thinking regardless of who - if anyone - takes them over. - Haven't checked, but unlent monies should be FCSC covered as (I'm presuming) they are held in a segregated Client Account with an FCSC covered bank.
- Lent monies won't be covered; and subject to significant change in regulations it's unlikely P2P investments (in general) ever will be.
- Expecting FCSC cover on P2P investments is like S&S investors expecting their brokerage firm to cover their trades against losses with FCSC cover. Just ain't gonna happen.
- Even if Metro Bank were to take over RS, they (RS) could remain a separate legal entity needing its' own regulatory cover(s). (MB might prefer that degree of separation should they wish to divest themselves of RS at some point in the future.)
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ceejay
Posts: 971
Likes: 1,149
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Post by ceejay on Jun 15, 2020 7:57:18 GMT
If they are bought by Metro bank, will the platform become FSCS protected ? No. P2P lending can't and won't ever get that level of protection, nor should it. FSCS protection is freely available at FSCS rates, derisory though they may be at the moment. As for what it would mean to existing lenders - well, there are many possibilities. Just note what Metro say about what interests them - RS's distribution network for selling unsecured loans. Not secured property loans, which are a significant part of the present portfolio. Here are a few scenarios off the top of my head: (1) the RS business carries on more or less unchanged, but rebranded. Metro continue to offer something like the current Access product, selling it as a higher risk/return option to their many (mostly young) savers. The 1Y and 5Y markets are run down. (2) Metro only want the borrowers, not the lenders. Current loans are simply run down, no new retail lending, therefore no RYIs, you just wait till the end of the loan and get your money back. The positive thing about this scenario is that Metro can probably find enough cash to make sure the PF doesn't run out. (3) Metro want rid of retail lenders asap and after a short run down period (a few months) just buy the loan book off us and we all have to take our money elsewhere. I'm sure there are more... One big downside for me is that it would take RS out of the game as far as consolidation within the P2P market goes - there could have been some interesting possible marriages.
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Post by jochietoch on Jun 15, 2020 8:03:18 GMT
If they are bought by Metro bank, will the platform become FSCS protected ? How would that work? FSCS protects money held by a financial firm if that firm goes under; additionally it can compensate if you received negligent advice and lost money as a consequence. It doesn't compensate normal investment losses. If you've lent money through the platform to another individual/company, that borrower is not an FSCS protected firm and there's no reason for the FSCS to protect you from losses, any more than in you bought into an index fund through your bank and the market went down.
The only way for investor's accounts to be protected would be if Metro were to offer to buy out investor's loans and, say, convert them into a Metro savings account. Perhaps they will, say to restore liquidity and give the platform a boost, or maybe to gain access to a new depositor base they can then sell other products to, but as they would take on the default risk so there is a real cost. It would be up to them based on their assessment of whether it makes economic or reputational sense for them to do so.
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Post by freefalljunkie on Jun 15, 2020 8:07:55 GMT
If they are bought by Metro bank, will the platform become FSCS protected ? No. P2P lending can't and won't ever get that level of protection, nor should it. FSCS protection is freely available at FSCS rates, derisory though they may be at the moment. As for what it would mean to existing lenders - well, there are many possibilities. Just note what Metro say about what interests them - RS's distribution network for selling unsecured loans. Not secured property loans, which are a significant part of the present portfolio. Here are a few scenarios off the top of my head: (1) the RS business carries on more or less unchanged, but rebranded. Metro continue to offer something like the current Access product, selling it as a higher risk/return option to their many (mostly young) savers. The 1Y and 5Y markets are run down. (2) Metro only want the borrowers, not the lenders. Current loans are simply run down, no new retail lending, therefore no RYIs, you just wait till the end of the loan and get your money back. The positive thing about this scenario is that Metro can probably find enough cash to make sure the PF doesn't run out. (3) Metro want rid of retail lenders asap and after a short run down period (a few months) just buy the loan book off us and we all have to take our money elsewhere. I'm sure there are more... One big downside for me is that it would take RS out of the game as far as consolidation within the P2P market goes - there could have been some interesting possible marriages. 3) would be great if we all get our money back without another haircut but I can't see how Metrobank with a market cap of on 180M could be in a position to buy a loan book of 800M? The fact that these talks are taking place at all to me indicates that Ratesetter's management realise the business has no future in its current form.
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puddleduck
Member of DD Central
Posts: 537
Likes: 489
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Post by puddleduck on Jun 15, 2020 8:24:29 GMT
No. P2P lending can't and won't ever get that level of protection, nor should it. FSCS protection is freely available at FSCS rates, derisory though they may be at the moment. As for what it would mean to existing lenders - well, there are many possibilities. Just note what Metro say about what interests them - RS's distribution network for selling unsecured loans. Not secured property loans, which are a significant part of the present portfolio. Here are a few scenarios off the top of my head: (1) the RS business carries on more or less unchanged, but rebranded. Metro continue to offer something like the current Access product, selling it as a higher risk/return option to their many (mostly young) savers. The 1Y and 5Y markets are run down. (2) Metro only want the borrowers, not the lenders. Current loans are simply run down, no new retail lending, therefore no RYIs, you just wait till the end of the loan and get your money back. The positive thing about this scenario is that Metro can probably find enough cash to make sure the PF doesn't run out. (3) Metro want rid of retail lenders asap and after a short run down period (a few months) just buy the loan book off us and we all have to take our money elsewhere. I'm sure there are more... One big downside for me is that it would take RS out of the game as far as consolidation within the P2P market goes - there could have been some interesting possible marriages. 3) would be great if we all get our money back without another haircut but I can't see how Metrobank with a market cap of on 180M could be in a position to buy a loan book of 800M? The fact that these talks are taking place at all to me indicates that Ratesetter's management realise the business has no future in its current form. Certainly 'Access' type accounts have no future with Ratesetter or anyone else. I think for P2P to have a future, terms need to be fixed term accounts, ie 3 or 5 years which would make very clear these are long term investments, not savings accounts.
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