Ex City minister calls for review into Lendy collapse

FORMER City minister Lord Myners has called for an independent review into the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) supervision of collapsed peer-to-peer lending platform Lendy.

The property lender went into administration in May after months of concerns about mounting levels of arrears.

The FCA had been keeping a close eye on Lendy’s activities in recent months, and confirmed in April that it had placed restrictions on the platform.

But Lord Myners, City minister in Gordon Brown’s Labour government between 2008 and 2010, has urged the Treasury to review how the watchdog handled the collapse.

He submitted a parliamentary question that asked the government to “establish an independent review into the FCA’s supervision of Lendy and the actions taken by the FCA once it had raised questions about the firm’s compliance with minimum regulatory standards and disclosure to lenders.”

A response from Lord Young on behalf of the government appeared to reject the move.

“There is an ongoing FCA investigation into the circumstances that have led to the administration of Lendy,” he said.

“It is important that the FCA rules for P2P lending remain relevant for this evolving sector, and the new rules announced by the FCA on 4 June reflect this.

“These will help to ensure that investors have the information they need to make effective decisions about P2P investments, without imposing additional costs on borrowers.”

The FCA is already under the microscope for its regulation of another collapsed P2P platform, Collateral, and defunct mini-bond provider London Capital & Finance.