The Anonymous Widower

Zopa Hits A Quarter Of A Billion

Zopa are reporting on their web site, that they have now lent out over a quarter of a billion pounds. That may seem a lot of money, but consider that ING have pulled four times that amount out of lending in the UK in this year alone. But every little helps.

You can make an estimate of Zopa’s income, by starting with one per cent charged on all loans.  So that looks like £2,500,000.  And to that you can add about a £100 for each successful loan.

But this is probably a lot less than Barclays or another big bank, would make by lending a quarter of a billion.

So possibly Zopa is really only an irritant in the hide of the big banks.

On the other hand, Zopa is a company that lives without the cost structure that any bank feels it must have.

So if they ignore Zopa, the banks will live to regret it. But they won’t live very long in their current bloated and top-heavy forms.

The reason is simple.  Zopa’s financial model appeals to both lenders and borrowers and is very simple. So all the discontent, that many feel about the banks, has found a home.

My only worry about Zopa is that politicians legislate against social lending to protect their shareholdings in LloydsTSB and RBS.

November 26, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | Finance | Banks, Peer-to-Peer Lending, RBS, Zopa