UK Takes Joined-up Regulatory Approach To P2P Finance

The UK government has announced a cross-departmental working group to support the sustainable development of peer-to-peer finance (aka 'crowdfunding'), as part of its latest response to the Red Tape Challenge. 

The composition of this working group is testimony to the broad policy implications and opportunities posed by this new form of financial model for consumers and small businesses. The list of members includes the Office of Fair Trading, the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, HM Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Cabinet Office. However, it is known that the Department for Culture Media and Sport is also very interested in the potential for peer-to-peer finance to fund the development of the arts and entertainment industry.  

Specifically, that working group will "monitor the appropriateness of the current regulatory regime for peer-to-peer platforms" and take the lead in engaging with the peer-to-peer finance industry.  In the meantime, the government wishes to encourage continued self-regulatory efforts by the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association to address common operational risks, and to engage with policy-makers and regulators.

Other aspects of the government's response to the 'disruptive business models' Challenger Businesses Red Tape Challenge are discussed here.

Rethinking... Financial Services

How time flies when you're having fun. When not engaged in rethinking personal data, I've been experiencing the deep joy of rethinking financial services regulation, now that the Financial Services Bill has reached the House of Lords.

As I've explained in the other place, this is not about flogging a dead bank. This is about enabling the growth of new facilitators - the same kind of evolution towards cost-efficient and transparent financial services that we have already seen in other retail markets. The same evolution that Andy Haldane of the Bank of England has advocated - or Lord Young, for that matter.

My experience so far leaves me optimistic that the UK's creaking regulatory framework can be successfully overhauled. Unlike the MPs in the House of Commons, the Peers are less interested in the politics and more interested in the detail of what works and what doesn't. For that reason, the passage of the Financial Services Bill through the House of Lords provides a rare and invaluable opportunity to confront the government - and the Treasury - with all those gripes and suggestions that have been ignored for years.

So please take that opportunity - whether it's via comments on media stories, through the blogosphere or any contact you may have with the powers that be.

Next stop: Europe.

Image from The Philosopher's Magazine.

Travels In The Blogosphere

My humble apologies for letting a week go by without a word from the Pragmatist. But while taking care of business, I've at least been charting my travels in the blogosphere on Twitter. And The Fine Print records a few sceptical and irreverent reactions to:

• the eagerly awaited judgment on MasterCard's multilateral interchange fees (MIF); and

• the latest draft of the Financial Services Bill.

You might also keep an eye out for a guest post on the Nutmeg blog.

Just when the sun is shining at long last...