Comments on: Zopa: Why peer to peer lending is a threat to big bankers

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:52:32 +0000

Nice to see you you supporting zopa Tom. Zopa is a great idea and deserves to succeed but the result of the HMRC ruling means it has become very difficult in my opinion to get a return that justifies moving funds out of a high paying savings account and into zopa as a lender. In the early days i did put a fair amount in but since the ruling have put a hold on adding any further funds.

By: Ian Burdon

Ian Burdon — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:21:22 +0000

I find Zopa a social entity in helping people get back on there feet. Zopa is doing a much better job than the banks. I would think a True Labour Goverment would be backing Zopa all the way. Instead of playing a blocking regulation game via OFT and HMRC.

Is the goverment running away from Zopa and backing the banks.? Now who owns the banks.?

These are fair questions for Mr Darling.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:21:42 +0000

I have recently started to lend on Zopa and find it very rewarding.
The satisfaction of helping some one get a loan and to get a return from this has meant that I am now looking at other ways of saving and investing.
With Normal saving investment its all about the profit and for most people the few pounds return on small amounts of savings are so small its nothing to get excited about, the excitement comes from spending it. Where as my interest payment I received today from a £10 loan I made last month is exciting and I am now looking at other ways to save and invest.
Zopa is a great way to get people interested in saving and investing, for the new saver investor it would be nice to be able to have Zopa as part of an ISA.

By: David

David — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:49:37 +0000

Nice to hear you are supporting zopa and the issue of how losses are treated for tax purposes. Going forward if this issue is not addressed it is difficult to see peer to peer lending growing sufficently to become a serious alternative to the banks and building societies as after 2 years as a lender on zopa the current treatment of losses as a 40% tax payer makes the risk/reward issue one that has prevented me injecting further funds over the last 12 months.

By: Fergus Partridge

Fergus Partridge — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:20:45 +0000

Hi Tom,

Very well done on supporting an initiative like Zopa and bringing it to the attention of the Chancellor.

Eventually I don’t see why Zopa shouldn’t have the same advantages as other banks such as the right to hold only fractional reserves (albeit far better regulated ones).

It will never truly be able to complete until it does.

By: Stuff I’ve seen August 23rd through August 25th | Podnosh

Stuff I’ve seen August 23rd through August 25th | Podnosh — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:02:57 +0000

[...] Zopa: Peer to peer lending | Tom Watson MP – Tom Watson outlines his enthusiasm for per to peer banking: “Out of all the digital start-ups I met as a minister, the one that most inspired was Zopa. Why? I think they have the capacity to completely re-write the terms of trade in the banking sector.” [...]

By: Giles Andrews

Giles Andrews — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:44:01 +0000

Thanks for your contunuing support Tom. It was good to hear the Chancellor say on Today last week that he wanted to see more competition for banks – well he could start by levelling the playing field in terms of the tax treatment of credit losses!

By: Excellent Debate on P2P Lending across Blogs « The Bankwatch

Excellent Debate on P2P Lending across Blogs « The Bankwatch — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:14:17 +0000

[...] and the House of Commons through Tom Watson MP blog. I wrote to the Chancellor in front of me but essentially I suggested [...]

By: Zopa blog - Tom Watson’s Zopa blog

Zopa blog - Tom Watson’s Zopa blog — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:49:47 +0000

[...] asset class for ISAs. He was an enthusiastic supporter and it’s great to see he still is in his blog on Friday. Tom is widely regarded as the most ‘digital’ of all MPs so his views are [...]

By: Danvers

Danvers — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:57:19 +0000

Tom – all great ideas to support Zopa.

As a member of Zopa, I am struggling to understand why losses cannot be set off against profit for tax purposes. Ultimately, if the losses/profits are in the course of business, then set off should be automatic. I don’t know if this changes if the amount put through Zopa exceeds a certain amount (e.g. £25,000 – being the threshold requiring a consumer credit licence) or not. However, I wonder whether the position of the HMRC would stand up if anyone had the temerity to take them on in court and argue that the losses should be allowed? Perhaps the community should rally together to fund a test case?