The business models and economics of peer-to-peer lending

This paper reviews peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, its development in the UK and other countries, and assesses the business and economic policy issues surrounding this new form of intermediation. P2P platform technology allows direct matching of borrowers’ and lenders’ diversification over a large number of borrowers without the loans having to be held on an intermediary balance sheet. P2P lending has developed rapidly in both the US and the UK, but it still represents a small fraction, less than 1%, of the stock of bank lending. In the UK – but not elsewhere – it is an important source of loans for smaller companies. We argue that P2P lending is fundamentally complementary to, and not competitive with, conventional banking. We therefore expect banks to adapt to the emergence of P2P lending, either by cooperating closely with third-party P2P lending platforms or offering their own proprietary platforms. We also argue that the full development of the sector requires much further work addressing the risks and business and regulatory issues in P2P lending, including risk communication, orderly resolution of platform failure, control of liquidity risks and minimisation of fraud, security and operational risks. This will depend on developing reliable business processes, the promotion to the full extent possible of transparency and standardisation and appropriate regulation that serves the needs of customers

Using Autopoiesis to Redefine Data, Information and Knowledge

The definition of knowledge has always been a contentious issue in knowledge management. Effective knowledge management requires a definition of knowledge that is consistent, useful and true. Whilst most definitions today fulfil the first two criteria, none accurately address all three, including the true, biological nature of knowledge. This is where autopoiesis can help. Autopoiesis was developed to try answer the question of what makes something living, using a scientific methodology. It proposes living things are discrete, self-producing entities and constantly cognising entities. Autopoiesis has long inspired definitions of knowledge, with ideas such as: knowledge cannot be transferred, or knowledge can only be created by the potential ‘knower’. Using the theory of autopoiesis, it is possible to create a biologically grounded model of knowledge, representing the latest thinking in neuroscience. However, before this new, biologically grounded model of knowledge can be integrated into new or existing knowledge management theories, it needs to be tested, else it falls into the trap of being conceptual, and remaining that way. This paper uses the theory of autopoiesis to redefine the concepts of data, information and, most importantly, knowledge, and goes on to develop a model of knowledge that has the potential to be used as a new foundation for knowledge management

The Business Models and Economics of Peer-to-Peer Lending

This is a research report.This paper reviews peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, its development in the UK and other countries, and assesses the business and economic policy issues surrounding this new form of intermediation. P2P platform technology allows direct matching of borrowers’ and lenders’ diversification over a large number of borrowers without the loans having to be held on an intermediary balance sheet. P2P lending has developed rapidly in both the US and the UK, but it still represents a small fraction, less than 1%, of the stock of bank lending. In the UK – but not elsewhere – it is an important source of loans for smaller companies. We argue that P2P lending is fundamentally complementary to, and not competitive with, conventional banking. We therefore expect banks to adapt to the emergence of P2P lending, either by cooperating closely with third-party P2P lending platforms or offering their own proprietary platforms. We also argue that the full development of the sector requires much further work addressing the risks and business and regulatory issues in P2P lending, including risk communication, orderly resolution of platform failure, control of liquidity risks and minimisation of fraud, security and operational risks. This will depend on developing reliable business processes, the promotion to the full extent possible of transparency and standardisation and appropriate regulation that serves the needs of customers