Securitisation losses rattle peer-to-peer lenders

Marketplace lending hit by downgrades, legal worries and questions over structure of deals

Peer-to-peer pressure: investors in securitisations of consumer loans originated through some online platforms endured a turbulent first half of 2016

It's an all-too-familiar story. Lenders discover a new way to extend credit to consumers. Banks securitise the debt, bundling up the loans and repackaging them into marketable securities. The deals are rubber-stamped by credit rating agencies. Investors pile in, blindly snapping up tranches of supposedly safe debt that turns out to be anything but.

The recent turmoil in the world of marketplace lending, where individuals and institutions channel loans to consumers and businesses via the internet