Peer2Peer Finance News
The UK's first peer-to-peer finance magazine for investors and the industry
  • Home
  • News
    • Personal Finance News
    • Industry News
    • SME News
    • Global News
  • Property
  • IFISA
    • IFISA Guide
  • Video
  • Open Banking
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Features
    • Joint Ventures and Promoted Content
  • Comment & Analysis
  • What is P2P?
  • Partners
  • Events
    • Past Events
  • P2P Power 50
    • Power 50 2020
    • Power 50 2019
    • Power 50 2018
    • Power 50 2017
  • Sign up to our e-newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Directory
  • Jobs
  • My Account
    • Manage Account
    • Change Password
    • Log In
    • Log Out
shutterstock_1168996606
July 8 2020

What’s happening at Zopa?

Michael Lloyd Industry News, News, Top 3 Charles Birnbaum, Covid-19, Jeppe Zink, Nicholas Aspinall, Olivia Broderick, Scott Jones, Tim Levene, Zopa

Zopa has been incredibly busy since it celebrated its 15th birthday in April.

The most prominent piece of news of late was, of course, when the ‘big three’ peer-to-peer lending platform was granted its bank license, but the lender has hit many more headlines too.

Here Peer2Peer Finance News explores what’s happening at the consumer lending platform.

Bank license

Last month Zopa gained its long-awaited full UK bank license, paving the way for the official launch of the company’s new digital bank later this year.

Read more: How Zopa Bank can crack the savings market

The new bank is set to offer a fixed-term savings account protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The lender said that the Zopa Fixed Term Savings Account can be opened in as little as seven minutes and will offer a “competitive” rate over one to five years.

Secondary market

At the start of April Zopa said it is overhauling its secondary market so that investors can sell loans progressively, rather than waiting until they reach the front of the queue.

The lender said that loan sales would take approximately the same amount of time, although funds would be made available gradually.

Higher risk lending

In mid-April in response to the Covid-19 crisis, Zopa stopped lending to borrowers in higher risk bands. This meant the lender halted the origination of loans that would normally have fallen into its C, D and E risk bands.

After about a month, Zopa announced it was resuming lending to ‘C risk’ borrowers due to more data being available to assess them.

Support for customers during Covid-19

Back in March, Zopa told borrowers if they have any trouble making repayments as a result of the coronavirus they can ask for a payment freeze.

In April, following the City regulator instructing motor finance firms to offer a three-month payment break to customers in financial difficulty due to Covid-19, Zopa outlined its support for car finance consumers.

The platform said it has several options for impacted customers, for example reduced payment plans or freezing payments for a period of time but highlighted that the right action depends on individual circumstances.

People moves

The company has undergone a change in personnel recently.

At the end of May Olivia Broderick, Zopa’s group general counsel and company secretary, left the lender to join payment platform Checkout.com.

Then last month Zopa Group board member Charles Birnbaum resigned after nearly three years in the role.

And after gaining its bank license, the P2P lender shook up its board.

Zopa appointed three directors to its group board, Jeppe Zink, Scott Jones and Nicholas Aspinall, all of whom work at shareholders of the company. Meanwhile, Tim Levene, chief executive of another Zopa backer, Augmentum Fintech, resigned after eight years as an investors director.

Aave launches ‘undercollateralized lending’ service SMEs fear lack of loans after furlough scheme ends

Related Posts

investors clash

Industry News, News, Top 3

Relief and frustration at absence of P2P and fintech in the Budget

Pavel Klema

Global News, Industry News, News, Top 3

Bondster names new chief executive

Fintech. Financial technology text on virtual screen. Business, internet and technology concept.

Industry News, News, Top 3

Fintech lending can solve financial exclusion

Popular posts:

  • Chancellor unveils recovery loan scheme
  • The House Crowd goes into administration
  • Budget outlines plans for £15bn of green bonds in 2021
  • Sunak to announce stringent CBILS successor scheme
  • FCA warns The House Crowd investors against using…
  • BBB sets out further details on recovery loan scheme
Back To Top
  • Home
  • Contact
  • About
  • Team
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy
  • T&Cs
  • Disclaimer

Follow Us on Social Media

© Peer2Peer Finance News 2020
• Additional design by