Mintos mulls second attempt to enter UK market

Mintos monitoring the outcome of Brexit negotiations to see if there is an opportunity to try and enter the is UK market again.

The Latvia-based peer-to-peer lending marketplace had a regulatory application rejected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last year.

The City watchdog said at the time that Mintos had “not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it will adequately capitalise its business” and had not shown that its head office would be based in the UK, in line with regulatory requirements.

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“Three of the key areas where the firm’s policies and procedures are inadequate relate to creditworthiness assessments, arrears handling and winding down the firm’s business,” the FCA said at the time.

Since then, Mintos, which facilitates lending between investors and loan originators from around the world on its platform, has applied for an investment firm licence in Latvia, which would bring it in line with most of these requirements.

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Martins Sulte, chief executive of Mintos, said having this licence could then allow the platform to passport its services into the UK depending on the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

“An investment firm licence will give us a better chance of providing services in the UK, but that depends also on what is decided about passporting after Brexit,” he told Peer2Peer Finance News.

There is no target date for trying to re-enter the UK market. Sulte said Mintos is also hoping to launch a debit card for its customers next year once it gains its electronic money institution licence.

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