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Money Box

Pioneer Zopa exits peer-to-peer lending

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2804 Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sixteen years after it appeared as the first of its kind in the world, Zopa has announced it's leaving the peer-to-peer lending business to focus on banking activities. Peer-to-peer matches people who want to lend money with individuals or businesses that need it. What will it mean for Zopa investors, borrowers and the wider industry?

A new partnership is set to increase protection for people who are in debt to loan sharks. The collaboration between the Vulnerability Registration Service and the Illegal Money Lending Team will enable utility suppliers, mobile phone firms and other organisations to identify and support more of their vulnerable customers.

A married couple have two full state pensions - but one is much higher that the other. We explain why.

This week Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent warned that inflation in the UK will “comfortably exceed 5 percent” by the spring. Rock bottom interest rates on savings accounts are well below that meaning the spending power of money in them will erode over time. So might investing be the way to protect savings against rising inflation?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Producer: Charmaine Cozier Researcher: Drew Miller Hyndman Editor: Emma Rippon

Transcript

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0:00.0

You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.

0:06.5

I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:11.2

I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,

0:16.0

relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.

0:22.4

So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,

0:28.3

and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you.

0:33.6

So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.

0:39.4

BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.

0:43.2

Hello, welcome to this Moneybox podcast.

0:46.3

Loan sharks are thriving and it's vulnerable people who are often their victims.

0:51.0

A new alliance hopes to tackle that problem.

0:53.9

State pension inequalities in just a

0:56.2

minute. The Bank of England predicts inflation will rise above 5% can we protect the value of our

1:02.6

savings. And we finish with what our producer Charmaine says is an absolute banger of a tune.

1:09.2

But first, Zopa.

1:14.8

The original peer-to-peer lending firm was launched in 2005 to disrupt the banking industry.

1:17.8

But it's now closing that part of its business

1:20.0

to concentrate on being a bank.

1:22.7

So what does this mean for the thousands of people

1:25.3

who have money invested with Zopa or who've borrowed from it?

1:28.8

And indeed, for the whole concept of peer-to-peer lending. Can it survive? Dan Whitworth is here

1:34.1

with the details, Dan. Well, the model, Paul, that we're talking about, peer-to-peer lending,

...

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