Despite its benefits, online peer-to-peer lending bears the risks associated with traditional forms of institutionalised lending. However, because individuals have taken over the role of the institutional lender, and the institutional participant in this form of lending takes a step back by acting only as an intermediary between the borrowers and lenders, ordinary individuals are left to bear the type of risks that institutions have traditionally borne, but without the same means of doing so. There has been little academic analysis of the role and form that regulation should take in the regulation of peer-to-peer lending and most discussions centre on the American regulatory experience. This thesis sets out to examine the theoretical classification of online peer-to-peer lending and the theoretical and practical justifications for regulating it. The aim is to ascertain the most appropriate way to regulate peer-to-peer lending, taking into account the underlying conceptual model which underpins it. The study adopts a theoretical analysis of P2PL participants and regulation based on the concepts of consumer protection and paternalism. It includes a doctrinal analysis of the UK peer-to-peer lending legislation and regulation to identify, describe and explain the rules pertaining to the industry. It also uses a comparative approach to compare P2PL with existing forms of financial lending and similar (dis)intermediated forms of transacting between individuals to show that online peer-to-peer lending is a unique form of intermediated transaction. The thesis argues that it is important that regulation displays an understanding of the underlying conceptual framework of the business model it aims to regulate. In doing so, it also argues that the peer-to-peer lending users are more than just ‘consumers’. They demonstrate a shift in the conception of individuals from consumers to prosumers because they participate in the production side of the services they receive. It goes further than existing discussions of prosumption by positing the concept of the ‘lendsumer’ to give a more accurate account of the role and experiences of peer-to-peer lenders and the effect this has on their transactional relationships and the risks they face because of this role. Based on this analysis, the thesis shows that the UK regulatory regime has limited suitability because it lacks awareness of the underlying prosumption model of peer-to-peer lending, focusing only on the business-to-consumer aspects. Consequently, it does not resolve all the issues resulting from the tripartite, participatory nature of the peer-to-peer lending transaction. In light of these findings, the thesis proposes the regulatory use of two main concepts and highlights their implications for peer-to-peer lending regulation. The first is the ‘lendsumer’ as a new paradigm of the consumer which has implications for the regulatory protections afforded to the P2P lenders. The second is the use of gatekeeper liability, adapted to online peer-to-peer lending, as a way to affect these protections in light of the particular vulnerabilities and risks experienced by the peer-to-peer lender.

中小企業是全球經濟成長的主要動能，且有望成為金融科技潛在得利者，而融資更在金融科技應用中扮演重要的角色，結合科技的應用，可以更進一步以非結構化資料建立信用評分模型以評估信用風險，不僅能更加瞭解顧客、達到精準行銷，使風險的估計更為準確。結合金融科技的新興融資方式，P2P借貸將為中小企業資金融通帶來了新的方向，消費信貸商品與傳統股債市相關性較低，提供小額投資人一多角化的新形態投資標的。 / Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the main drivers of global economic growth and are expected to become potential beneficiaries of financial technology. Besides, financing also plays an important role in the application of financial technology. With the application of technology, credit risk can be further evaluated with unstructured data model, so that we can not only know the customers better to achieve accurate marketing, but also estimate credit risk more accurately. In combination with the emerging financing method of FinTech, P2P lending will bring a new channel for the financing of SMEs. Moreover, consumer credit loans, low correlated with traditional investment products such as stocks and bonds, provide retail investors a diversified investment instrument.

Credito deriva etimologicamente da “credere”, cioè avere fiducia, confidare. Chi già possiede molto dimostra facilmente di essere in grado di restituire un prestito e di conseguenza non fa fatica ad ottenerlo. Chi invece non dispone di risorse finanziarie adeguate, chi non è “bancabile” viene escluso. È qui che entra in gioco la fiducia, perché ci si può sentire garantiti anche solo dalla conoscenza personale del debitore, dalla sua storia creditizia. Si parla in questi casi di garanzia solidale, alternativa. Se il credito è “micro”, la fiducia invece è “macro”. Oltre alla fiducia nel concetto di microcredito ci sono una serie di ingredienti fondamentali che non possono mancare. Innanzitutto ci deve essere un prestito di piccole dimensioni. Poi ci deve essere uno scopo diverso dal semplice consumo: l’avvio di attività produttive e commerciali, un aiuto a superare particolari e temporanee situazioni di crisi che possa fornire delle risorse minime fondamentali per interrompere il circolo della povertà e del necessario ricorso all’usura. Il microcredito che è nato nei Paesi sottosviluppati si è esteso rapidamente anche nelle economie moderne. Anche il legislatore italiano nel 2010 ha introdotto nell’ordinamento nazionale una disciplina del microcredito. Tuttavia ricondurre all’interno degli schemi bancari tradizionali uno strumento così complesso come il microcredito che unisce in sé aspetti non solo finanziari ma anche e soprattutto etici può risultare riduttivo e rischia di vanificare i risultati raggiunti fino ad oggi nella prassi. Anche nel settore agricolo il microcredito può costituire un valido aiuto per lo sviluppo. Le regole e la logica del microcredito se funzionano bene nelle economie rurali dei Paesi sottosviluppati, come dimostrato dai diversi progetti posti in essere ad esempio in Uganda, fanno più fatica ad essere recepite nelle economie moderne, soprattutto in ambito agricolo dove le caratteristiche stesse dell’attività da finanziare e gli ingenti capitali iniziali necessari rendono lo strumento del microcredito poco utilizzabile. Tuttavia occorre puntare sullo sviluppo di questo strumento che ha dimostrato di avere numerosi punti di forza che possono davvero costituire un valido strumento di lotta alla povertà anche nelle economie moderne. / Credit derives etymologically from "believe". People who have money can easily demonstrate to be able to repay a loan and therefore not is hard to get it. Those who do not have adequate financial resources, those who are not "bankable" are excluded. If the credit is "micro", trust instead is "macro". In addition to trust, in the concept of microcredit there are a number of essential ingredients that can not miss. First, there must be a loan small. Then, the start of production and business activities can help to overcome individual temporary crisis situations that may provide minimal resources essential to stop the cycle of poverty . Microcredit who was born in underdeveloped countries has expanded rapidly in modern economies. Even the Italian legislature in 2010 adopted national discipline of microcredit. However, it’s hard to find the rules to regulate the microcredit and the risk is to delete the results achieved in practice. Even in agriculture microcredit can be a valuable aid for development. The rules and logic of microcredit work well in rural economies of developing countries, as shown by several projects for example in Uganda, but in modern economies the characteristics of the activities and the enormous initial capital required make the instrument of microcredit little usable. However the development of this tool is very important because microcredit can really be a valuable tool for fighting poverty even in advanced economies.

P2P 網路借貸是近年快速發展的新興產業,也是目前全球網路替代金融 市場最為活絡的項目之一,其主要概念為透過網路平台直接實現個人一對一 或一對多的資金借貸服務。台灣的 P2P 網路借貸直到 2016 年才開始起步, 本文以台灣目前成立的三家 P2P 網路借貸平台為出發點,從平台的商業模 式與申貸數據進行分析,試圖以台灣 P2P 網路借貸的發展現況,找出 P2P 網路借貸在台灣的機會與挑戰。 本文發現目前台灣 P2P 網路借貸產業的主要客群為信用評等位在中間 階層的借款者,推論目前台灣 P2P 網路借貸對於金融產業是補充關係多於 競爭關係,此種補充角色為投資者與借款者帶來更多選擇,加上台灣有足夠 成熟的徵信環境,可視為此產業的發展機會。但目前台灣的法律規範使得 P2P 網路借貸平台的發展受限,同時現有模式存在的風險也未受到明確的規 範,將會是未來發展所面臨的一大挑戰。 / Peer-to-peer lending is one of the most active financial services in the online alternative finance industry and has grown rapidly in the last few years. The main idea of P2P lending is to realize lending without the financial institutions through online platforms. In Taiwan, P2P lending market is just in the early stage in 2016. This thesis analyzes the business models and data of three Taiwan’s P2P lending platforms. Try to find out what are the opportunities and challenges for developing P2P lending industry in Taiwan. The study found that the main borrowers on Taiwan’s P2P lending platforms are people with medium level of credit rating. It could be inferred that P2P lending industry so far acts as a supplementary role more than as a competitor in Taiwan’s financial market. The supplementary role of P2P lending platforms provides more options for investors and borrowers. In addition, the credit reporting industry in Taiwan is well-developed. They are both the opportunities for P2P lending industry. However, current regulations limit the development of P2P lending and the risks from the current business models are not clearly regulated. It will be a challenge for developing P2P lending in the future.

Identifikační záznam Richterová, Daniela. On line fundraising a mikrofinancování v sociální síti a na Webu 2.0 [Online fundraising and microfinace in the context of social networks and Web 2.0]. Praha, 2011. 102 s. Diplomová práce. Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Filozofická fakulta, Ústav informačních studií a knihovnictví 2011. Vedoucí diplomové práce Mgr. Denisa Kera, Ph.D. Abstract The main focus of this thesis is to characterize online fundraising and microfinance tools in the context of Web 2.0 and social media. The main goal is to analyze and assess the existing philanthropic portals in the Czech Republic and abroad. The thesis includes a theoretical explanation of terminology, principles and technologies of Web 2.0 and social media platforms and their connection to online philanthropy. New phenomena such as crowdfunding, P2P lending and crowdsourcing are clarified. The analytical part focuses on the evaluation of fundraising portals Network for Good and GlobalGiving and microfinace portals Kiva and LoanBack. Czech philanthropic online projects are represented by Šance pro draha, myELEN, Daruj správně and Skutečný dárek. Particular emphasis is given to monitoring and evaluating the extent of Web 2.0 principles and technologies integration. The conclusions contain suggestions for implementing the findings...

[pt] Empréstimos P2P conecta tomadores de crédito a investidores por meio de plataformas online, eliminando a necessidade de um banco comercial como intermediário. Ao assumirem o risco de inadimplência dos tomadores, os investidores dependem do processo de cobrança de dívida. Esse estudo investiga se leis estaduais de cobrança de dívida afetam a capacidade dos cobradores de recuperar dívidas liquidadas. Resultados mostram que regulações maís rígidas estão associadas a taxas de recuperação menores, o que por sua vez leva a expansão de crédito para tomadores mais seguros. / [en] P2P Lending connects borrowers and lenders via an online platform, cutting out traditional banking intermediation. By bearing the risk of borrowers defaulting on their loans, investors rely on the debt collection process. This paper investigates whether state debt collection laws affect the ability of debt collectors to recover charged-off debts. Results show that stricter regulation are linked with lower recovery rates, which in turn leads to extension of credit to safer borrowers.

Peer-to-Peer-Finanzierungen haben in den letzten Jahren nicht nur aufgrund ihres disruptiven Charakters, sondern auch aufgrund ihres raschen Wachstums und der wachsenden Bandbreite an Dienstleistungen zunehmend Beachtung gefunden. Peer-to-Peer Kreditplattformen versuchen, Banken zu umgehen, um Kreditnehmern eine Alternative und Anlegern eine neue Anlageklasse anzubieten - wird dies zu einem „Banking ohne Banken“ führen? Peer-to-Peer Betreiber müssen darauf achten, dass sie ihre Geschäfte gemäß den geltenden Gesetzen und Vorschriften planen und betreiben, auch wenn sie mit einer Bank zusammenarbeiten, die als Kreditgeber fungiert, da die Nichteinhaltung der geltenden Vorschriften unter anderem zivil- und strafrechtliche Sanktionen, Prozesskosten sowie nachteilige Publizität und im schlimmsten Fall die Beendigung des Geschäfts nach sich ziehen kann. Zusätzliche Schwierigkeiten ergeben sich aufgrund unterschiedlicher Vorschriften in den europäischen Ländern. Infolgedessen muss eine neue Beurteilung des rechtlichen Umfelds vorgenommen werden, bevor ein Peer-to-Peer Betreiber sein Geschäft auf andere Länder ausweiten kann, was häufig zu unterschiedlichen Konfigurationen und Geschäftsmodellen führt. In dieser Dissertation sollen die wichtigsten Bestimmungen für die Vergabe von Peer-to-Peer Krediten herausgearbeitet werden. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf den rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für Peer-to-Peer Kredite in Deutschland, d.h. welche Vorschriften diese Plattformen erfüllen müssen, um ihr Geschäftsmodell zu betreiben, und/ oder welche Vorschriften und Lizenzanforderungen für diese Unternehmen gelten. Zunächst wird erklärt, was Peer-to-Peer Kredite sind, wie sie sich entwickelt haben und wie sie funktionieren. Die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen werden sowohl für Deutschland als auch für europäische Länder, nämlich das Vereinigte Königreich, Schweden und die Niederlande, im Vergleich untersucht. Anschließend wird untersucht, warum verschiedene europäische Länder unterschiedliche Regeln anwenden und ob es möglich wäre, solche Regelungen für Peer-to-Peer Kredite in ganz Europa zu harmonisieren und gleichzeitig sicherzustellen, dass die Hauptgründe der Länder erfüllt werden. / Peer-to-peer finance has received increasing attention over the last years, not only because of its disruptive nature, but also because of its rapid growth and expanding breadth of services. Peer-to-peer lending platforms try to circumvent banks to offer borrowers an alternative and investors a new asset class – will this lead to a “Banking without banks”. Peer-to-peer operators need to be careful to plan and operate their business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, even if they cooperate with a non-affiliated bank that acts as lender of record, since failure to comply with applicable regulations can result in, among others, civil and criminal penalties, litigation expenses as well as adverse publicity and in the worst case the termination of the business. Additional difficulties arise due to different regulations across European countries. Consequently a new assessment of the legal environment needs to be made before a peer-to-peer operator can expand its business into other countries and often leads to differing setups and business models. The dissertation is intended to identify principal regulations that apply to peer-to-peer lending. The focus lies on the legal framework for peer-to-peer lending in Germany, i.e. which regulations such platforms have to comply with in order to operate their business model and/or which regulations are applicable to such businesses and which license requirements apply. First of all it will be explained what peer-to-peer lending is, how it evolved and how it works. The legal framework will be investigated with regards to Germany as well as European countries, namely the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Netherlands, in comparison. It will then be examined why different European countries apply different rules and whether it would be possible to harmonise such regulations for peer-to-peer lending across Europe whilst ensuring that the countries’ main rationales are fulfilled.

L’industrie de la finance a connu une multiplication d’innovations qui peuvent bouleverser les services financiers traditionnels. Elles brouillent les frontières entre banques et start-ups, accélérèrent les transactions, démocratisent l'accès au crédit, tout en imposant aux régulateurs le défi de construire un cadre règlementaire qui rééquilibre le compromis entre stabilité financière, concurrence innovation.Dans cette thèse, d'abord je réponds à cette question : comment les innovations influencent-elles la concurrence dans la banque de détail ? Un premier enjeu consiste à comprendre pourquoi certains de ces services innovants sont offerts par les plateformes non-bancaires, et comment les banques peuvent rivaliser avec des participants qui appliquent un modèle d'affaire différent. Après, je regarde quels sont les facteurs d’adoption de l'innovation par les consommateurs. Pour répondre à cette question, j'étudie à l'aide d'outils d'analyse empirique l'exemple des deux principales plateformes de prêts peer-to-peer aux USA, Prosper et LendingClub. Pour terminer, je me demande si la réglementation de l'innovation est nécessaire. Est-il optimal pour la société de réglementer les fournisseurs de services innovants ? Je propose deux modèles théoriques qui s'inscrivent dans les débats bien connus sur le niveau optimal des interchanges dans les systèmes de cartes de paiement et des clauses de parité des prix et d'exclusivité sur les plateformes en ligne. / During the last years, the finance industry has experienced a proliferation of innovations which may disrupt traditional financial services. They blur the boundaries between banks and financial start-ups, speed up transactions, democratize the access to credit, revise how we can purchase goods and how merchants can sell their products, while imposing regulators the challenge for a new level playing field which balances the trade-off between financial stability, competition and innovation. In this thesis, I try to answer to three main issues related to the topic of innovation in retail banking. Firstly, how do innovations impact competition in retail banking. One first issue is to understand why some of these innovative services are offered by non-bank platforms and how can banks compete with entrants that do not have the same business model. Secondly, I look at what the drivers of the adoption of innovation by consumers in retail banking are. What determines the diffusion of a new financial technology despite all the financial risks related to it ? To answer to these questions, I will look empirically at the example of the two main peer-to-peer lending platforms in the USA, Prosper and LendingClub. Third, I address the question on whether regulation of innovation is necessary. Is it optimal for the society to regulate the providers of innovative retail banking services? To answer to these questions, I address, in two theoretical models, the well-known debates on the optimal level of interchange fees in payment card systems and the imposition of exclusivity arrangements and price parity clauses in contracts between platforms and merchants.