RateSetter lenders to receive their funds over the next few days

RateSetter lenders will be able to withdraw the rest of their funds over the next few days, as the next stage of the Metro Bank acquisition comes into effect.

The challenger bank acquired the peer-to-peer lender last September and subsequently agreed to buy its legacy loanbook.

The loanbook purchase comes into effect on 2 April, at which point RateSetter’s investment business will close.

RateSetter lenders’ money will then be processed into the system and go into the holding accounts over the coming days to 6 April.

Peer2Peer Finance News understands that by the next banking day on 6 April, all RateSetter lenders should have all their money in full in their holding account, ready to withdraw or transfer wherever they want.

RateSetter stopped investment withdrawals from 26 March in preparation for Metro Bank’s takeover of its remaining consumer loan portfolio.

The platform recently wrote to investors to remind them to check if their bank details are correct and for its Innovative Finance ISA users to consider where they may want to transfer their funds to.

Metro Bank has been funding all new consumer lending on the RateSetter platform following the acquisition and will continue to be the sole funder of loans under the RateSetter brand.

Metro Bank told Peer2Peer Finance News on the day of its full-year results in February that it plans to offer RateSetter’s products in its branches when lockdown restrictions ease.

Going forward, RateSetter has said that it is confident that it can grow Metro Bank’s unsecured lending despite widening its losses in 2020.

According to RateSetter’s financial results for the year up to 31 March 2020, the platform saw its losses before tax widen from £8.3m in 2019 to £8.6m in 2020. This was driven by an increase in overheads, partly offset by an improvement in gross profit.