Category: P2P Lending

P2P Lending1 Comment

New Datamonitor report on P2P Lending in the UK has some interesting analysis points

Colin Henderson

I do not have access to the report, but the  summary is intriguing.  Recently Zopa have been lobbying for regulation of P2P Lending in UK.  It is interesting that Datamonitor refer to low barriers to entry as creating more competition.  My impression is that regulation would be a good thing to ensure quality of the providers to ensure longevity of the business model. The scope does briefly mention the consideration of regulation, but hard to critique without the report in hand.  There are some fascinating statements in the analysis summary (pasted below) that are very interesting, such as: ”Naive investors … Continue reading New Datamonitor report on P2P Lending in the UK has some interesting analysis points

Business Models, Open Finance, Open Source Banking, P2P Lending, Social Lending4 Comments

Comment on “Beyond the age of leverage: new banks must arise” | Niall Ferguson

Colin Henderson

Niall Ferguson nails the ultimate irony in the world today.  Every government is set on increasing debt as a means to solve the current crisis, however the reality is that they are potentially sending good money after bad, and not addressing the core issue. (emphasis mine) Beyond the age of leverage: new banks must arise | ft.com Call it the Great Repression. The reality being repressed is that the western world is suffering a crisis of excessive indebtedness. Many governments are too highly leveraged, as are many corporations. More importantly, households are groaning under unprecedented debt burdens. Worst of all … Continue reading Comment on “Beyond the age of leverage: new banks must arise” | Niall Ferguson

EU, P2P Lending1 Comment

Summary of p2p lending market in Poland | Cap Gemini & Gemius

Colin Henderson

Report with rich data on the Polish p2p market. Data is qualitative comparing typical internet population, and p2p population. In general it appears that p2p lending in Poland is skewed towards to the average internet population. Having said that, the distrust level of Banks in Poland is higher than in the west, so the outcomes are not directly comparable. Well worth the read. Internetowe pożyczki społeczne :: Gemius SA Raport w języku angielskim [note: link to English pdf] Continue reading Summary of p2p lending market in Poland | Cap Gemini & Gemius

Open Source Banking, P2P Lending, Self Service, unbanked1 Comment

How much about the approach to Branchless Banking is driven by incorrect assumptions?

Colin Henderson

Johan picked up on my post about mobile loans, but interestingly pointed to an Economist article in November entitled A bank in every pocket? Mobiles bankieren in die EU. « – was einer so denkt – Bis jetzt hatte ich gedacht, dass das eine afrikanische Tradition wäre. Ich finde das ganz spannend. Translated:Until now, I had thought that this would be an African tradition.  I find this very exciting. I have covered the African mobile phone market, and this article builds on what is happening there.  These “branchless” schemes typically allow customers to deposit and withdraw cash through a mobile … Continue reading How much about the approach to Branchless Banking is driven by incorrect assumptions?

P2P Lending

Virgin enters the P2P loan market

Colin Henderson

Virgin have taken a majority stake in CirclLending, a P2P lending operation in the US. Jim at Netbanker pointed this out to me the other day. This is significant, because for the first time, we have billion dollar company successful in other fields, including financial services, entering the space. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has taken a majority stake in Massachusetts-based CircleLending, a provider of loan administration services that specialises in managing loans between relatives and friends. The investment will form the foundation for a new Virgin-branded financial services offering in the US. Source: Finextra This should be a wake up … Continue reading Virgin enters the P2P loan market

P2P Lending, Social Lending2 Comments

P2PVenture : MeetingMinutes-2007-02-03

Colin Henderson

BarCampBank3  met in Paris last weekend, and unfortunately I could not attend.  Tom Purves from Toronto was there and made a difference.  We had a founding session of the P2PVenture project within BarCamp:BarCampBank3. The session gathered more than 15 people and we had a lively discussion on the targets, regulation and mechanism to build and operate a platform to match enterprise projects / startups investment needs and distributed investment capacities. Source: P2PVenture : MeetingMinutes-2007-02-03 Its exciting that BarCampBank has settled on P2P lending as a topic – P2PVenture.  This is a good one to tag, and keep up with, for … Continue reading P2PVenture : MeetingMinutes-2007-02-03

P2P Lending, Social networks7 Comments

Prosper loan analysis suggests importance of qualitative assessment – people matter!

Colin Henderson

I have been thinking and listening about P2P/ social lending, and wondering exactly what is the outcome and to relate that to traditional banking. I took the first seven loans from Prosper tonight, and here they are. I re-sorted them based on the rate column. The rates mapped to the credit scores. The better the credit grade, the better the rate. (I have to research what HR means, so I ignored that as an outlier) Then I sorted by Debt to Income … I expected to see the number of bids relate to this one based on lenders reducing their … Continue reading Prosper loan analysis suggests importance of qualitative assessment – people matter!

P2P Lending, Social Lending, Social networks

Could P2P lending have the perfect opportunity in Australia?

Colin Henderson

In response to Charis post, I would be more inclined to think that the credit bureau system down under precisely supports P2P lending, particularly with the Prosper model. Prosper is in essence eBay for loans, so its focussed on the reputational value of members, and the community advice, groups etc to ensure loans losses are minimised. Lack of adequate Bureau reporting would provide an additional competitive advantage P2P lending. This might be a hindrance for Zopa, who take on the risk assessment on behalf of their members. Lack of positive information, would require them to rethink their approach used in … Continue reading Could P2P lending have the perfect opportunity in Australia?