Zopa Stops Taking U.S. Applications

The online loan facilitator Zopa Ltd. is no longer accepting applications for loans in the United States.

"Due to the extremely difficult consumer credit circumstances in the U.S., we made the decision to focus our ongoing efforts in the U.K., Italy, and Japan," Doug Dolton, the British firm's global chief executive, said Thursday in a posting on a Zopa blog.

Customer service representatives are still taking calls from U.S. customers, and the company will continue to process payments for loans that have already been issued, Mr. Dolton said.

Zopa launched in the United Kingdom in 2005 and opened its U.S. Web site in December. Unlike other lending sites in the United States, it enlisted six credit unions to fund the loans.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER