Zopa pulls out of P2P consumer lending as it blames cowboy firms for ‘damaging customer trust’ Breaking this a.m. Peer-to-peer giant Zopa has started to inform customers it is closing down its P2P consumer investment division, transferring its loan portfolio to its relatively new bank unit. In an email to customers, Natasha Wear, peer-to-peer CEO at Zopa, wrote that “after 16 years of peer-to-peer consumer investments at Zopa, we’ve taken the difficult decision to [...]
Non-Standard Finance shares plunge amid £80m equity capital raise Non-Standard Finance shares plunge amid £80m equity capital raise British lender Non-Standard Finance (NSF) today said it wanted to raise £80m in the third quarter through a share sale that would be backed by its largest investor Alchemy. NSF said the equity raise depended on talks with the Financial Conduct Authority over a proposed compensation payment scheme for customers of its guarantor loans business. [...]
Sunday Sitdown: ‘Skittish’ banks need to up their game, says CEO of Ezbob Sunday Sitdown: 'Skittish' banks need to up their game, says lending boss Following a nightmare year that was hugely disrupted by the pandemic and three subsequent lockdowns, the City is slowly switching into recovery mode as the economy starts to re-open and many sectors are coming back to life. To discuss the way back up, City A.M. sits down with Tomer Guriel, chief executive of Marble Arch-based [...]
Lender Amigo swings to a loss, cuts staff and awaits approval of compensation scheme February 25, 2021 Loans lender Amigo sees complaints skyrocket 707 per cent as it swings to a loss
Exclusive: ‘Banks should deliver the same experience as Amazon and Netflix’, says Ezbob CEO January 21, 2021 After a year that was hugely disrupted by Covid-19 and the entire economy and its workforce moved online, City A.M. sat down with Tomer Guriel, CEO of Mayfair-based Ezbob, which provides digital lending software to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the City. A vaccine is being rolled out, so the City [...]
Guarantor lender Amigo flags going concern uncertainty as Covid-19 bites November 26, 2020 London-based subprime lender Amigo reported a 36.5 per cent fall in first half revenues and flagged “material uncertainty” about its future operations, citing worries over the pandemic, complaint volumes and the outcome of an ongoing regulatory investigation. The company, which saw revenues drop to £92.3m over the six months to end-September, also posted a pretax [...]
Credit providers must learn to embrace new technology August 8, 2019 Personal finance has a legacy problem. Until now, those who weren’t familiar with its inner workings have never truly understood financial products and services. A combination of technical jargon and a lack of clarity concerning the impact that certain decisions might have on a person’s credit rating has often left consumers very confused about exactly [...]
Fintech startup Wagestream picks up £15m from Balderton and Northzone May 20, 2019 London fintech startup Wagestream has today closed a £15m series A funding round, co-led by venture capital investors Balderton Capital and Northzone. The round was raised in addition to a credit facility of up to £25m Shawbrook Bank. At £40m, Wagestream chief executive Peter Briffett said the total amount raised marks the largest single social impact [...]
Alternative finance lender Oakam is trying to help the unbanked November 30, 2018 Payday loan companies get a bad rap. And it’s easy to see why, considering the predatory businesses practices and extortionate interest rates charged by lenders like Wonga, which collapsed into administration this year. High-interest, short-term loans were back in the news this week, with the announcement that the fintech startup Monzo is considering offering such [...]
The City helps fuel economic growth right across the country, so be wary of those who want to clip its wings October 28, 2018 One of the most pernicious elements of Labour's current economic platform is the idea that the City is entirely distinct from (and damaging to) the so-called real economy. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell's stump speeches routinely contain attacks on predatory bankers, fat-cats and financial speculators. The labour leader also seems to have a personal vendetta against [...]