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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 10:26:20 GMT
Few days ago i read an interesting article on thisismoney showing the growth of p2p lending market.
They included a table of lenders/borrowers and money lent in 2015 (and cumulatively) for each of them. The data were provided by the P2P association.
They included many large and small lenders but not SS, so my guess is that SS is not part of this association.
Why is SS not part of the P2P association?
My understanding is that this association, besides lobbying for favourable lending conditions, also standardise good practices in the loan management, data reporting etc and will probably become even stronger after the introduction of the IF-ISA later this year. Joining in (being accepted) would give a higher stance to the member.
Is SS going to join them?
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Post by dodgeydave on Feb 22, 2016 13:12:25 GMT
I see that there are only 8 members.
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j
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Post by j on Feb 22, 2016 13:37:15 GMT
Looks like AC, ABL & MT are not members as well!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 14:37:34 GMT
I see that there are only 8 members. Well, the established P2P lending companies in UK are probably not more than 20 in total. The association has certainly good goals (to define the loan management in case of platform defaults, to standardise the way data are presented out, to derive reliable stats on defaults etc) and I think those joining it definitely gain in visibility and appreciation.
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Post by sunspot on Feb 22, 2016 15:32:25 GMT
The banks were fully regulated, but it didn't stop them going bust!
Barclays was the only major UK bank that survived relatively unscathed, but even they had to borrow money from Middle Eastern investors in an unfavourable deal. In fact, it smelled so bad to me, that I chose NOT to buy shares myself at the time.
In other words, belonging to an association is all well and good, what really matters is whether the people in charge know what they're doing. And as we saw with the Co-op bank fiasco, that is not a given.
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ilmoro
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Post by ilmoro on Feb 22, 2016 22:20:16 GMT
I seem to recall that SS dont qualify under the required criteria as they werent true P2P (would for new loans now possibly), same possibly true of MT. AC were talking about joining in 2014, even had a poll but not sure anything ever came of it. Wellesley of course were members but then left due to issues with their bonds & P2PFA rules.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Feb 22, 2016 22:41:33 GMT
I'm quite some way from being convinced that the P2PFA is beneficial for anybody other than platforms.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 23:57:40 GMT
I'm quite some way from being convinced that the P2PFA is beneficial for anybody other than platforms. I am quite convinced that without P2PFA we would not have the IF-ISA (at least not so soon) and that is excellent news for lenders. Their lobbying is to increase the market in the first place. If this brings new opportunities to us, they are welcome!
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james
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Post by james on Feb 23, 2016 0:18:15 GMT
Why is SS not part of the P2P association? One of the membership requirements is "Operate to a significant extent by means of direct loan contracts between borrowers and lenders." SavingStream did not meet that requirement because it was lending on its own account and borrowing from lenders itself to fund its lending, not using direct contracts between lenders and ultimate borrowers. Savingwstream is not the only platform that has been ineligible for this reason, I think it currently bars MoneyThing for the same cause. Mmebership also costs money and a platform might decide that the costs are greater than the benefits.
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Post by highlandtiger on Feb 23, 2016 8:48:26 GMT
Most associations are a waste of time and money, and to be honest are just a marketing tool to give the impression of some sort of security and safety for customers.
But in the great scheme of things they are not much use, and have zero powers.
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Post by wiseclerk on Feb 23, 2016 9:01:12 GMT
My perception is that the P2PFA did play a role in coordinating the efforts that lead to the new regulation and the tax breaks.
I think p2p lending in several European countries could benefit if in these countries the marketplace would form a comparable association to coordinate their efforts.
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Post by sunspot on Feb 23, 2016 10:08:32 GMT
Coming under the supervision of the FCA is more significant.
UK regulators are invariably next to useless, but they are still more effective than trade associations.
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mikes1531
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Post by mikes1531 on Feb 23, 2016 13:52:25 GMT
Coming under the supervision of the FCA is more significant. UK regulators are invariably next to useless, but they are still more effective than trade associations. Yes, but wasn't the P2PFA in the forefront of lobbying for regulation, in an effort to bring more credibility to the concept? And weren't their members among the first to commit to having a funded winding-up procedure in place in case of platform failure? They probably also put a significant effort into the campaign to allow P2P into ISAs. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the conditions for FCA approval were suggested by the P2PFA.
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Post by sunspot on Feb 23, 2016 14:12:05 GMT
All of that may be true, but so what? It matters not what the origin of an idea is, only whether it's good or not.
As for the P2P association, I'm a newcomer to this lark, so I can't comment on what good they have or haven't done, but it's already been pointed out that for technical reasons, SS may not be able to apply - the same reasons, incidentally, why I avoid older loans, i.e. because they are not truly peer to peer.
I would not have joined SS under the old system. Similarly, I declined to invest in a Wellesley Bond - in fact, when full regulation comes into force, I sincerely hope that offering such investments is banned. We've already had one mis-selling scandal after another, and in my view, a P2P company offering investments that are NOT peer to peer is simply not on.
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james
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Post by james on Feb 23, 2016 20:18:00 GMT
My perception is that the P2PFA did play a role in coordinating the efforts that lead to the new regulation and the tax breaks. I think so but it is also interesting that the initial SA rules only permit 36H P2P, not all UK P2P, and the rules of the P2PFA also only permit 36H P2P. It's entirely possible that the P2PFA sought rules that would benefit its own members but block the other ways of doing P2P.
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