Wednesday 8 February 2017

Peer-to-peer lending ... uh ... "flight to quality" ... and, well ... exit of weaker platforms, I suppose

And the weaker platforms are all exiting or something. 'Yeah. You've said that.' I actually have a migraine, man, since yesterday, and I've been feeling a bit sick. But you know what, dear reader(s)? I'm going to give this PR email my best shot. 'You're a real trooper, boss!' Thank you, Voice.

Okay. Let's do this!

Over half of wealth managers would now recommend direct lending as an alternative to mainstream cash products.

Well, well ... 'Is that it?!' This is it -

London, 8th February 2017 - Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending is beginning to see a "flight to quality" as the growth rate of the industry slows and weaker platforms exit the market, according to BondMason, the UK's leading direct lending service for investors.

BondMason's Market Report 2017, the UK's only comprehensive summary of the latest trends in the P2P market, shows that the UK direct lending market accounted for £3.2 billion of lending in 2016, up 39% on 2015, but down from 91% growth for the same time period between 2014 and 2015.


Right. Let's bring Stephen Findlay in. [There's a photo of him, by the way. You don't want to see it.]

Stephen Findlay, CEO, BondMason, said: "The direct lending industry continues to grow at an impressive rate. What we are seeing right now, and what we believe to be the reason for the slow-down, is the start of a "flight to quality" whereby better lending platforms outperform and evolve faster and more sustainably than weaker ones, forcing the underperforming platforms to start to lose market share and then move out of the market altogether. This is good news for lenders, for borrowers and, ultimately, for the market itself."

So the catchphrase is "flight to quality". I get it. That's all right. 'They're trying to brainwash you, boss.' Ha! They'll have to do better than that. I'm the guy with the conceptual posts, remember. I can take this in my stride. / Jesus! This email ... I'm going down a bit. H! There's a lot of this email, man. Christ! I can't do all of it. I'll get complaints. 'Just do the room for growth.' All right. 'Oh, and the outlook for 2017.' Okay.

"There is plenty of room for direct lending to grow over the long term as it is still very small in the context of the overall lending market. This is exciting news for retail and institutional investors alike: competition is raising platform standards, while the growth potential for the market as a whole means that there remain great opportunities out there for investors", Stephen Findlay added.

That's the growth. / Outlook now -

Consolidation between direct lending platforms and traditional financial players is predicted for 2017 as the market moves from an 'opening' to 'scale' phase. According 'to' BondMason, tie-ups between direct lending platforms themselves will come later down the line, as growing infrastructure systems and improved regulation will move the relatively nascent industry to a more established means of lending.

Stephen Findlay said: "There is still so much potential for the direct lending market. We expect to see this "flight to quality" really take off over the next 1-2 years and for increased competition to lead to notable platform failure as it becomes harder for platforms to sustain revenues to cover their cost base.


"Flight to Quality" again! 'He can't leave it alone, Mikey!' Ha! What a character!

"Furthermore, the range of investors and the methods of investing will diversify, competition and consolidation will continue to produce better products, and regulation will improve as the industry becomes more established. Direct lending is here for the long-haul and we expect it to evolve and change form over the coming years - becoming an ever-increasing component of asset allocations for retail and institutional investors."

All right, all right. That's enough.

...

Anything else? Music? Well, it's staring at a laptop all day that gives me migraines. When I'm a rock star - 'You'll have a different set of problems.' Like what?! 'I don't know. Drug addiction?' Don't be ridiculous, Voice. I'm clean-living. 'Oh, you are now. But you'll fall in with a bad crowd, just like Jim Morrison.' Shut up!

Speaking of Jim Morrison ... I was watching The Doors Live at the Hollywood Bowl last night. A great concert! Our Jimmy was a true shaman. 'He still is, Mikey, on the astral plane.' I know that, man. He's my mentor.