The FCA’s regulatory description of peer-to-peer will be “operating an electronic system in relation to lending” and it will fall under the FCA’s control as a licensable activity of debt administration.
Lee Birkett, founder of peer-to-peer platform eMoneyUnion, said lenders would be allowed to keep the same OFT license numbers they already had and he did not anticipate much to change within its day to day activities.
He said: “As the first and only secondary market peer-to-peer platform in the UK I would say we are in pretty good shape to capitalise on this fast growing lending sector and lucrative asset class. Now we have clearer regulatory landscape we will be opening up the platform to select intermediaries.”
The FCA website makes reference to the key elements of peer-to-peer lending which will fall under its control and within its regulatory framework.
Loan agreements must be presented to the lender and the borrower and potential lenders must be given information about the financial standing of would-be borrowers.
And the FCA will oversee the collection of debts and the administration of agreements facilitated by the platform and provide credit information services including credit repair.
Birkett said his platform has addressed these requirements ahead of the transfer to FCA regulation on 1 April at which time all peer-to-peer lenders will have to have the correct systems in place to deliver the FCA’s requirements.
