P2PFA adds stress testing member requirement to operating principles
PEER-TO-PEER Finance Association (P2PFA) members will need to stress test their loan portfolios from next April under new rules published by the self-regulatory body.
The P2PFA, which counts peer-to-peer heavyweights Funding Circle and Zopa among its seven members, has unveiled enhanced membership criteria that will come into force from next April.
Members will be required to undertake and publish assessments of stress tests of their loan portfolio.
The operating principles build on existing rules such as a ban from borrowing or raising funds through their own platforms or through other P2P lenders. It is not believed that any members currently do this.
Read more: Exclusive: Christine Farnish on the changing role of the P2PFA
‘The P2PFA will continue to lead good practice in this fast-developing market in order to ensure that consumers get a good deal,” Christine Farnish (pictured), chair of the P2PFA, said.
“We believe that the changes to our operating principles – the P2PFA’s good practice standards – announced today provide important consumer safeguards and will help to promote further trust and enhance confidence in peer-to-peer lending.
“Whilst our standards supplement and complement the statutory regulations already put in place by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), we believe it would be helpful for the wider sector were some or all of these standards to be incorporated into the formal regulatory regime in due course’.”
It comes ahead of the FCA’s P2P post implementation review which is believed to have been delayed until into the new year.
Read more: P2PFA reports more than £700m of new lending in third quarter