Funding for Lending second anniversary
Commenting on the second anniversary of the Funding for Lending scheme (FLS), Samir Desai, CEO and co-founder of Funding Circle, the world’s leading marketplace for business loans, said: “It’s clear that despite best intentions from the government, the Funding for Lending scheme hasn’t worked. It was introduced into a market which is fundamentally broken. We know the demand from small businesses is there, but traditional lenders are encumbered by legacy IT issues and processes which mean they are not in a position to significantly increase supply – even with artificial assistance from FLS.
“The system needs a wider range of lenders to alleviate the pressure. Marketplaces can provide this – they are quicker, more transparent and more efficient than banks at lending to small businesses. Peer-to-peer lending is a £1bn industry in the UK, growing rapidly, with the potential to transform the financial system and jump-start small business lending.”