Today, two snapshots of the wild world created by Covid-19. We leave you to decide which scenario you find more credible. First, fine words from the British Business Bank. AltFi reports: Fintechs will be “even more important” coming out of lockdown than they were during lockdown helping smaller businesses return to normality, according to the British Business […]
Cynics might file this one under: “Believe it when I see it.” This latest governmental initiative might work, but we expect more of the same – FinTech acquisitions by mainstream banks when they like the look of the asset prices. Finextra carries the story: Some of the UK’s biggest banks have signed a government-backed pledge […]
We hate to say it, but we told you so. Negative deposit rates have finally arrived – albeit as a way of charging for forex transactions. The Daily Mail reports: Starling has become the first British bank to introduce negative interest rates for personal account customers, though only those who hold high balances in euros […]
Our friends at What Investment run an opinion piece with which we heartily agree. It argues that peer-to-peer (aka P2P or direct lending) is now a properly recognised asset class. In a nutshell, our view is that direct lending, just like private equity before, has had a slow start, but is on the way to […]
Gender equality in finance has been a hot topic for decades – while equality remains far from being attained. Fast Company reports the latest research. The data indicate that we still have a long way to go. In 2019, less than 3% of all VC funds went to women-led companies, more than 90% of all decision-makers at VC […]
London is the leading EdTech hub in Europe according to research published by London & Partners and Dealroom, to coincide with London Tech Week 2020. Our friends at UK Tech News carry the story: Best in Class: Global Trends in EdTech from a London Perspective explores EdTech VC-led investment trends since 2014, comparing countries and cities in […]
The scandal surrounding London Capital & Finance (LCF) deepens. Although the products involved were minibonds – very different from the asset-backed and secured loans offered here – the new line of attack is directed at the financial safety net that is the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Interesting times. FT Adviser carries the story. Investors fighting […]
We are pleased to announce the launch of the latest loan from WeBuyAnyHome.com Secured against property, the loan is rated A+ by our credit committee, yields 8 per cent, and is for £150,000 over three years. Below we offer an extended excerpt from the borrower’s representations seeking credit (which we have examined using our best […]
The trend for established FinTech players to migrate towards asset-backed loans – consistently identified in this News section – continues. Our friends at AltFi report: Listed lending fund Honeycomb has disposed of £44.6m of consumer unsecured whole loans to Tandem Bank in August, according to a stock market update. Honeycomb says the sale “is in line with the Company’s […]
As we look forward to a business world settling down in a post-Covid world (with a mixture of hope as well as enthusiasm) we thought we’d offer a refresher on how to lend. We cover new loans (to come) and buying other lenders’ loans in the secondary market. How do you go about lending and […]