5 key takeaways for P2P from the Budget
Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his Budget on Wednesday, outlining policies to aid the economic recovery.
And despite no direct mention of peer-to-peer lending or fintech in general, to the relief and frustration of some platforms, there were some policies announced that can benefit the sector.
Here are the five key takeaways for P2P…
- Stamp duty holiday extension
Sunak (pictured) extended the stamp duty holiday, introduced in July to give people a tax break on the purchases of property up to £500,000, until the end of June.
He also said that the nil rate band will be £250,000 – double its standard level – until the end of September, in order to smooth the transition back to normal.
P2P lending platforms welcomed the changes.
- New future fund scheme
The government will launch a replacement scheme to the future fund in early summer.
Sunak revealed ‘future fund: breakthrough’, a new £375m scheme to replace the current future fund which closed for new applications on 31 January while existing applications need to have been accepted and legally completed by 31 March.
Future fund: breakthrough will target research and development-intensive companies seeking a minimum of £20m and will include private sector investment to support their growth.
- Recovery loan scheme
Sunak unveiled a new loan recovery scheme will launch on 6 April to replace the existing coronavirus support programmes due to end on 31 March.
The scheme, which has a maximum facility of £10m, will provide loans from £1,000 for asset and invoice finance and from £25,001 for term loans and overdrafts to any businesses with no turnover restrictions in place.
The British Business Bank set out further details and said businesses will be able to choose from a wide range of products including term loans, overdrafts, asset finance and invoice finance facilities, and will have to pay interest and fees from the outset.
Alternative lenders, including P2P platforms, were pleased with the new scheme.
- Taxpayer Protection Taskforce
The Treasury is creating a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce to crack down on fraudsters exploiting government support schemes.
Sunak allocated £100m for the taskforce in his Budget.
This follows concerns of fraud in the government-backed loan schemes, particularly the bounce back loan scheme.
- Plans for £15bn in new green bonds
The Budget confirmed plans for the world’s first sovereign green bond to be released this summer.
The green gilt issuance for the financial year will total a minimum of £15bn and the framework, which will be published in June, will detail the types of projects that will be financed to help meet the government’s green objectives.