Twino moves a step closer to regulation

Twino has boosted its share capital as it moves closer to achieving its investment brokerage license.

The Latvia-based European peer-to-peer lender has increased its share capital to €1m (£888,316).

The platform applied last year for an investment brokerage licence from Latvia’s Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC) which would give it investor protection and let it launch new products.

Under the restructure, AS Twino Investments, which was setup last year to apply for the investment brokerage licence, will take over the Twino Investment Platform operations.

Read more: P2P platform signs up to new Latvian crowdfunding industry guidelines

Several board appointments have been made to bolster the company as it prepares for regulation.

Roberts Lasovskis, Twino’s investment platform lead has been named as chair of the company’s board.

Karīna Caunīte-Orupe, Twino group’s lending operations and risk management lead and Aiga Krīgere, the group’s legal and compliance control function lead are also joining the board of the company.

“We have taken another significant step towards receiving an investment brokerage company license, by fulfilling the requirements for capital adequacy defined in the legislation, as well as strengthening the management team with critical competences,” Lasovskis said.

Twino has also said that Brexit hasn’t stopped British investors using its platform but it is monitoring the situation to ensure there are no barriers for users under the new UK and European Union relationship.

The platform’s investors funded loans worth €194m in 2019, making the overall amount €616m since its inception in 2015.