Government rejects calls to disclose British Business Bank exposure to P2P defaults

The government has rejected calls to provide an aggregate figure of the British Business Bank’s (BBB) exposure to defaulted peer-to-peer loans.

Responding to a parliamentary question, Lord Duncan, parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said this was “commercially sensitive” information.

Former City minister Lord Myners had queried whether information on defaults from loans on platforms backed by the state development bank could be provided in aggregate form, if not possible individually, to protect consumers.

However, responding on the government’s behalf, Lord Duncan said this was confidential.

Read more: British Business Bank extends funding programme to P2P lenders

“Data provided to the BBB by its delivery partners to meet portfolio monitoring and reporting requirements remains commercially sensitive to the delivery partners and as such is governed by confidentiality agreements,” he said.

“An individual delivery partner may choose to publish data on the overall performance of their loanbook, which may include but will not be limited to BBB-backed investments.”

The BBB has previously channelled funds via P2P platforms RateSetter and Funding Circle, as well as former P2P platforms ThinCats and MarketInvoice (which has since rebranded to MarketFinance).

A spokesman for the BBB told Peer2Peer Finance News last year that anyone seeking funds from the BBB must go through a rigorous application process that details the investment structure and strategy as well as elements such as how funds are deployed, the returns and its track record.

It may also conduct background and referencing checks and interviews with current, previous and potential investors.