A 'credit bureau' for p2p sites may prompt better disclosure to investors

THERE are governance lessons for the nascent peer-to-peer (p2p) loan marketplace that can be taken from recent rules imposed on both credit-card issuance and moneylending in Singapore. This comes amid the latest kerfuffle over some S$600,000 in p2p loans that have likely gone sour after payments dried up and the borrower's sole director cannot be contacted.

To recap, BT reported this month that a car parallel importer named TLC Cars has failed to deliver on sold vehicles after borrowing hundreds of thousands from p2p investors. It is also said to have borrowed about a million bucks from banks.

The director, who had provided a guarantee on the unsecured loans, is now uncontactable. Reports have been lodged against the company, and the police are probing the case.