Regulator forces Dutch p2p lending site boober to stop lending

wiseclerk 2 Comments

Dutch p2p lending site Boober.nl is in big trouble. A court in Rotterdam ruled that Boober needs a license, with the judge supporting the position of the regulating authority AFM. After Boober published its interpretation what this ruling means, the AFM clarified its position in a press release.

Under pressure Boober finally posted a statement on its homepage saying that while the site remains open and existing loans will continue to be serviced, Boober stops any lender bidding. Statement:

Beste Boober Gebruiker

In tegenstelling tot wat dinsdag en woensdag is gecommuniceerd heeft Boober gisteravond na overleg met de Autoriteit Financiële Markten besloten om de krediet-bemiddelingsactiviteiten voorlopig te staken. Dit wordt geëffectueerd door uitleners voorlopig niet de mogelijkheid te geven op leningen te bieden . De site blijft gewoon beschikbaar en het besluit heeft geen enkele consequentie voor lopende leningen.

Boober betreurt de ongelukkige wijze waarop zij met de markt heeft gecommuniceerd en verwacht begin volgende week meer duidelijkheid te kunnen verschaffen.

Boober's service was controversial in the Netherlands from the start. It was even subject of discussion of the Dutch national parliament.

An update on what will happen next is expected early next week.

Richard van den Toorn, publisher of the great site Booberwatch.nl has supplied P2P-Banking.com with this chronology of events: Continue reading →

Prosper seeks Vice President Institutional Lender Development

wiseclerk 1 Comment

Prosper is hiring a Vice President, Institutional Lender Development. Job description:

As Vice President of Institutional Lender Development you will be responsible for ensuring Prosper has an adequate supply of liquidity. You will need to create an institutional sales process that identifies institutional prospects and sells them on the benefits of lending on Prosper. The position will also be responsible for developing strategies and structures that match the risk and return preferences of prospective lenders. This position will have an attractive incentive compensation plan dependent on meeting goals for institutional lender growth and marketplace liquidity.

This is an interesting development. First, if successful, it will scale up volume. Secondly, at least on the lender side, this step dilutes the peer to peer aspect of the marketplace.

Boober quarreling with regulator

wiseclerk

Dutch p2p lending service Boober.nl is quarreling with the regulating authority AFM. The AFM argues Boober needs a licence because it allows lenders in peer to peer lending to engage in commercial activities.

Boober CEO Guus Drijver denies that. He says that lenders can lend out only a maximum amount of 39000 Euro and even with an assumed interest rate of 10%, 3900 Euro profit per year could hardly be seen as commercial activity.

(Source: sprout.nl)

Zopa listings preview

wiseclerk 1 Comment

Tuesday I wrote about Zopa's plans for Zopa listings. Now a preview of how the new Zopa listings will look is available. With this feature Zopa will take the step from anonymous borrowers to a more personal look with borrower listings and profiles. To create a listing borrowers will have a credit grade of at least C.

I looked at the preview today and found the resemblance to Prosper.com layout striking in many points. The listing overview will look like this:

Zopa listings preview

The loan listing itself has photos, a loan details section, a personal profile section and borrower information. Furthermore it will have a Questions and Answers Section allowing the lender to ask questions. Looking at the following example the forecast graph in the upper right looks exactly like the same feature Prosper offers:

Zopa listings

The 8 page preview description gives more example screens of Zopa listings, which Zopa says it will introduce within the next months.

Lender feedback (which is limited so far) has been mixed.

With this changes, should the Prosper & Zopa merger that Jeff & Heather wish (it is really only wishful thinking!) ever happen, then at least the layout question seems decided now.