8 June 2012 Last updated at 19:00 ET
Peer-to-peer lending via the internet hits £250m
By Simon Gompertz
Personal finance correspondent, BBC News
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Lending via three websites that link savers with borrowers – bypassing the banking system – has topped £250m.
The “new age” finance carries no protection for deposits, but is being tipped as a serious threat to traditional banks.
The peer-to-peer sites are led by Zopa, which has lent more than £200m since it started in 2005.
Funding Circle, specialising in business loans, has topped £34m, and RateSetter has reached £24m