FLOTATION FRENZY
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The pros and cons of going public TAX UNCOVERED
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Our tax guide for investors
ThinCats’ John Mould on the direct lending ecosystem >> 10
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ISSUE 17 | FEBRUARY 2018
RateSetter poised to launch IFISA
RATESETTER is on track to launch its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) in the first half of February, meaning that all of the ‘big three’ lenders will now offer the tax wrapper. A spokesperson confirmed to Peer2Peer Finance News that RateSetter, which is headed up by Rhydian Lewis (pictured), has received ISA manager approval from HMRC. RateSetter’s IFISA will be available to current lenders only for the first two weeks, which the platform said was “a reward to our loyal customers”. The ‘big three’ firms – Zopa, RateSetter
and Funding Circle – collectively account for 69 per cent of P2P loan volumes in the UK, according to independent
P2P analysis firm Orca. Their presence in the IFISA market is expected to have a dramatic effect on mainstream
awareness and take-up of the product. For more on the IFISA, read our special feature on page 18.
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Zopa: Banks must embrace Open Banking or lose customers BANKS risk getting left behind by not making their systems available for Open Banking, Zopa’s lead on the new legislation has warned. Marie Steinthaler, head of new products and Open Banking lead at the peer-
to-peer consumer lender, said banks could end up losing customers if they do not embrace the new data-sharing initiative. “Customers will simply vote with their feet,” she told Peer2Peer Finance News.
“It is widely known that banks are struggling with legacy technology. It would have been great for all the banks to be ready, but for us it is about giving better service regardless of when banks are ready to launch.
“Eventually banks may risk losing people and will be left as the ones with the most expensive accounts and poorest service.” Open Banking is a UK regulatory initiative that mirrors the EU’s Payment Services Directive II. >> 4