The UK annual inflation rate has risen to 3%, after dropping below the 20-year average of 2% (or, rather, 1.999%) for 21 months in a row up to April 2021. With many countries have recently seen rising inflation, and with nearby Germany recently reporting a…
Kuflink* is now up-to-date in publishing all its company accounts at the UK’s companies registrar, after long delays. I’ve looked into its recent financial results, its independent auditor reports – which were especially important this time round – and other matters. Recent results Kuflink’s latest…
At 4thWay, we’re fascinated by the unusual nature of Rebuildingsociety’s loan book. No high-street bank dataset we’ve ever seen comes close to this kind of profile and nor do any other P2P lending companies. The loan book defies belief. Borrower grading has historically sucked. Bad…
This article covers: What is unsecured small business lending? When do small business loan bad debts occur? How and when do these loans make a profit? What do individual lenders need to do to reach a profit? How much does platform ability, borrower quality and…
I’m not new to reading long-winded court judgments, so I want to write about some interesting points for lenders that came up in this 83-page High Court judgment on Lendy this month. My thoughts are not specifically for people who lent through Lendy, the disgraced…
Each type of lending has its own particular unique sides and risks. One aspect of bridging lending is when a P2P lending company sets up a loan and then allows the borrower to repay that loan at the end by taking out another loan. Most…
One of the key things to understand when putting your money into a lending account is the competence and character of the people behind the P2P lending company in question. While I can’t distill all 4thWay’s acquired knowledge and method for scrutinising key people, I’m…
Lending Works has said to us that lenders have expressed support of it during the pandemic. And we have corroborating evidence that it’s probably a minority of lenders who are truly angry. Yet there’s certainly some anger going around. While it has so far justified its…
[orangebox] Lending Works* states that no lender has lost money while some Lending Works lenders have written to us saying that they have. What’s really going on? This article has two parts: Firstly, to talk about whether any lenders have suffered an overall loss at…
Below is the latest Lending Works review given by one of 4thWay’s specialists. On 14th December, 2021, Lending Works changed its business model, so that lending is now only done by financial institutions. Inidividual lenders will see their existing loans steadily repaid. I currently have…
I’ve taken a new look at what happened to lenders at the different peer-to-peer lending sites that closed or shifted away from the P2P model. The vast majority of closures have been benign for lenders, leading to a profitable return of their money, but there…
Borrowers provide personal and even corporate guarantees to say that their own personal or other business assets, including cash and their residences, can potentially be called upon to pay off a business debt. The business debt might be a small business loan or a property…
4thWay’s RateSetter Review RateSetter is sold to Metro Bank and repays all lenders with a profit RateSetter itself was sold to Metro Bank in 2020 and was no longer available to new lending. In early 2021, RateSetter’s P2P loans were sold to Metro Bank. All…
For the full story on HNW Lending, read the HNW Lending Review. [orangebox title=”Latest update”] Update on 28th October, 2020 HNW Lending has given us more good news today. It says the financial regulator has now allowed it to remove the temporary restrictions that HNW…
Certainly, it’s not much of a prediction to guess that, over the long term, house prices will rise. I mean that’s very clear. So I’m concerning myself today with short-term house prices, which can be more relevant when lending anyway. House-price movements change the risks…
RateSetter and Metro Bank have done a deal: RateSetter has been sold to Metro. RateSetter’s existing lenders will see their existing loans paid off while borrowers meet their repayments, as usual. Buto new lending will occur through the platform. Metro Bank will use RateSetter’s lending…
The past few months have been a strange, rough and disturbing time for many – perhaps most – people in the UK. Investors in the stock market have been slammed dreadfully. P2P lending and IFISAs have been a lot more stable, as you should expect…
Most peer-to-peer lending sits in the sweet spot with potential rewards considerably above savings accounts and yet risks below the stock market. And its incredibly steady record since 2005 certainly supports that. But where exactly does peer-to-peer lending sit compared to bonds? Peer-to-peer lending has…
I have a lot of professional and some personal experience with the Financial Ombudsman Service, all of it good. This powerful and excellent service has helped millions of people. It handles complaints about financial businesses that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This includes…
Lending Works has adjusted its forecasts of lender returns and bad debts for new loans. It’s increased the amount of borrower payments that now cover bad debts, with lending rates remaining attractive in its highest-paying account. All this has taken place after hiring a new…
