Zopa Was Processing Loans On Christmas Eve
Yesterday, I had nine loans shown being processed in my morning view of my Zopa account, with a total value of £830, but this morning those figures are 6 loans and £600. The interest has also gone up by a few pounds, so I suspect a couple of payments crept into Zopa from borrowers.
So somebody must have been working yesterday to OK the three loans that were added to my portfolio.
At least now, I’ll know if someone applies for a loan on Christmas Day, as I’ve got a few pounds in Zopa’s lending pot. This is contrary to what I said yesterday.
I bet your bank didn’t process your loan application yesterday!
Andrew Haldane On Peer-to-Peer Lending
This quote from Andy Haldane, a director of the Bank of England in the Independent is very ominous, if you’re a banker.
The mono-banking culture is on its way out. Instead, we are seeing a much more diverse eco-system emerging with the growth of new non-bank groups offering peer-to peer lending and crowd-funding.
Few are going to be upset, if more bankers are out of a job.
Do We Need A Bank?
Nationwide seem to have got it right here, even if I didn’t get the whole slogan in the picture.
Do We Need A Bank?
But I think the only reason for having a bank, is to have a nice warm place on a cold, wet day to go into, to use the cash machine.
Wonga Move Into Credit Card Territory
According to this article from the BBC, Wonga are moving into credit card and web fulfilment territory with their latest service called PayLater.
Although, I’m not a fan of Wonga, it could be a good idea, provided they moderate their interest rates.
Would I like to see someone like Zopa or Ratesetter doing the same? Only of course, if they didn’t relax their credit checks.
After all, for years, with many products and some big purchases like cars, finance has been an integral part of the process.
The trouble with something like Zopa doing this, could be, that if the loan is turned down, then the sale could be lost.
But Wonga’s thinking does show how the banks and credit card companies are getting it in the neck from the new financial innovators.
America, The Sick Man Of The World
Two of the stories I posted yesterday, showed the state the US is in. The first was the story of prisons in the US, and Alabama in particular. I started it with the words.
This story from the United States is terrible.
I felt it couldn’t get worse. But it course of did with the massacre of children in Connecticut.
The story of Gary McKinnon was really about America bullying a poor unfortunate, rather than fixing their leaky computer systems and treating him in the way he would have been in most other countries of the world.
We have also had the excursions into Afghanistan and Iraq, to wreak vengeance for the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11th, 2009. Sadly we were drawn into these ill-thought out adventures.
It’s funny too, how the three main companies being castigated for their tax position are all American.
I could also add in the stunts of bankers based in New York, which started the collapse of the worldwide banking system, the death penalty and the failed prison and justice system and a healthcare system that is the joke of the civilised world.
I shall not be going to the United States ever again and I will not buy products from American companies, where there is an alternative.
Zopa And Funding Circle Get Government Funding
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that Zopa and Funding Circle are going to get tranches of funds to invest from the Government.
I very much applaud this move as although the sums are quite small at ten and twenty million pounds respectively for each, the government’s seal of approval can only help the growth of this form of lending. To put these sums in context, Zopa has lent over a quarter of a billion pounds and currently around thirty million is available to borrowers.
But surely the biggest boost is that with this extra funding, the publicity will drive more credit-worthy borrowers into the arms of Zopa and Funding Circle.
My only worry is a selfish one, that the interest rates available will drop because of the extra funds.
I certainly wouldn’t like to be holding any shares in a traditional bank.
I shall also be watching the return, that I’m getting on my money in Zopa.
Rothschilds Buy Into Zopa
This news seems to be good for peer-to-peer lending and Zopa in particular.
Read about it here on The Bankwatch.
Peer-to-Peer Lenders To Be Regulated
This is the heading on this article in the Daily Telegraph.
I’m not sure, I would trust any government to not produce a set of regulations that protected the wunch of bankers, who got us into this financial mess.
In my view Zopa, Funding Circle et al, are one of the ways to get out of the mess. So don’t strangle the baby!
Always Say No To A Bank
According to this article in the Telegraph, the banks are being told to cut down on commission-based selling to their customers.
I never buy anything from a bank. If I could find a pure money transfer company to manage my current account, I might move.
Banks should be made to publish anonymously the salary details of all employees, including all of their benefits and commissions in a form that could be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet.
That would sort the problem out, as millions would analyse the results in great detail! It might even force some banks to withdraw from the market and we could have more coffee shops, bars and restaurants in good quality buildings.
English Councils Have Large Reserves
This article on the BBC shocked me. I always get the impression that councils are strapped for cash, but the Audit Commission says that they have £13 billion in reserves.
The councils should take a leaf out of this widower’s book and put it into peer-to-peer lending in their own area. I proposed putting a regional element into something like Zopa here.
They might lose the odd bit, but it would be safer than putting the money in an Icelandic bank.
The Anonymous Widower 