B2B Lending

Gartner has recently warned banks that consumer peer-to-peer lending platforms are a force to be reckoned with. Any business with a UK consumer credit licence can lend directly to consumers at Zopa, but the timing also looks good for SME's to get into their own peer-to-peer market without the aid of the banks.

A recent survey commissioned by Belgian bank KBC amongst businesses with turnover of £10m to £1bn suggests that UK businesses are continuing to borrow, even at higher rates.

“The people in the real economy, not the financial economy, are saying: ‘We’re still going, but financial fuel is going to get a lot more expensive for us,’” said Cameron Marr, general manager of the London branch of KBC Bank.

At the same time, however, 70 per cent of respondents expect credit to become less easily available. They foresee the cost of borrowing rising and loan covenants becoming tighter. The number of corporate defaults is expected to increase."

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention...