Following consultation, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is introducing rules in the peer-to-peer (P2P) sector, “designed to prevent harm to investors, without stifling innovation”.
The regulator has refined its proposals, giving additional guidance to make it clear that platforms will not be prevented from including information about specific investments in their marketing materials.
As originally proposed, the FCA is placing a limit on investments in P2P agreements for retail customers new to the sector of 10 per cent of investable assets. “This is an important means of ensuring that they do not over-expose themselves to risk,” read the statement, adding that the investment restriction will not apply to new retail customers who have received regulated financial advice.
In addition to these restrictions, the new rules cover:
• More explicit requirements to clarify what governance arrangements, systems and controls platforms need to have in place to support the outcomes they advertise, with a particular focus on credit risk assessment, risk management and fair valuation practices.
• Strengthening rules on plans for the wind-down of P2P platforms if they fail.
• Introducing a requirement that platforms assess investors’ knowledge and experience of P2P investments where no advice has been given to them.
• Setting out the minimum information that P2P platforms need to provide to investors.
• Applying the Mortgage and Home Finance Conduct of Business sourcebook and other handbook requirements to P2P platforms that offer home finance products, where at least one of the investors is not an authorised home finance provider.
P2P platforms need to implement these changes by 9 December 2019, except for the application of MCOB, which applies with immediate effect.
Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA said: “These changes are about enhancing protection for investors while allowing them to take up innovative investment opportunities – for P2P to continue to evolve sustainably, it is vital that investors receive the right level of protection.”
The FCA added that it will continue to closely monitor the P2P market as it develops further.
Latest News
-
Average mortgage rates creep up for first time in eight months
-
Titan Wealth agrees acquisition of Blacktower Group
-
Savers increasing allocations to fixed accounts, research shows
-
SIPP withdrawal requests jump 33% ahead of Autumn Budget
-
44% of first-time buyers looking at new builds, study finds
-
AJ Bell integrates with Dynamic Planner
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories