The FT reports on Zopa’s progress as they move into their fourth country and have their third birthday. What intrigues me a little is the nature of their expansion, that I believe is a mix of licensing and direct involvement. Their business model is also different in each country, particularly US which has a strange interest sharing arrangement. So its not clear to me, yet, that Zopa Japan particularly supports the title of this article in terms of volume until the model is clearer for Zopa in their expansive activities.
FTAdviser.com – Social lending set to soar
Since its launch, the enterprise has arranged more than £20m in unsecured personal loans in the UK and is preparing to launch in Japan, its fourth country after Italy and the US since it launch in the UK.
Bankwatch 
I’m very excited about Zopa. They are changing the face of the financial industry and thier timing couldn’t have been better. With the banking industry clambering to cope with a slowing economy and the subprime fiasco, many people are open to change. the wold of banking may look completely different in the next decade because of companies like Zopa and Prosper.
I also think Zopa is going about their entry into new markets in a very intelligent way. By approaching each new market in a way that is taylored to that market, they are avoiding some of the issues many companies face when starting business in a foriegn market. They recognize that what works in one place doesn’t work in another, and for that I give them mad props.
Here’s to the changing landscape of lending and financial service!
I’m very excited about Zopa. They are changing the face of the financial industry and their timing couldn’t have been better. With the banking industry clambering to cope with a slowing economy and the subprime fiasco, many people are open to change. the wold of banking may look completely different in the next decade because of companies like Zopa and Prosper.
I also think Zopa is going about their entry into new markets in a very intelligent way. By approaching each new market in a way that is taylored to that market, they are avoiding some of the issues many companies face when starting business in a foriegn market. They recognize that what works in one place doesn’t work in another, and for that I give them mad props.
Here’s to the changing landscape of lending and financial service!
The link to FTadviser.com gives an error.
Erik … I should have noted … registration [free] required.