Peer to Peer Lending Platform Harmoney Announces Full Board

Press Release

Peer to Peer Lending Platform Harmoney Announces Full Board of Directors

Auckland, 01 August 2014 - Peer to peer lending platform Harmoney today announced the appointment of its full board of directors. This follows the announcement in May of former GPG Chairman Rob Campbell as Harmoney Chairman.

Appointments to the Harmoney board are Bell Gully Partner David Flacks who is also on the Board of Vero Insurance New Zealand, technology entrepreneur and current Chief Executive of Localist, Christina Domecq, and Tracey Jones, CFO/COO of Tappenden Holdings Limited, one of New Zealand’s largest private investment portfolios.

In announcing the board appointments, Harmoney Founder, Director and Chief Executive Neil Roberts says the company has been fortunate to attract such diversity of experience and expertise to its board.

“The new board appointments bring together three disciplines that are essential to the success of any peer to peer lending platform.

“Funds management to ensure investor returns, the passion for delivering best practice technology and strong legal compliance especially in this newly enabled industry that will be closely monitored by the Financial Markets Authority. All are key areas that will define and shape Harmoney’s performance.”

Peer to peer lending has been extremely successful overseas and is growing at over 200% per annum. In the UK the Government has lent more than NZD200 million via peer to peer lending platforms whilst approving the investment class for pension plans and tax free savings. In the USA, Lending Club, the leading platform, is due to float in an IPO estimated at $5 billion with Google as a cornerstone early investor.

Harmoney is the first lender in New Zealand to be granted a peer-to-peer license by the sector’s regulator, the Financial Markets Authority.*

Harmoney is currently fine tuning systems and operating policies and expects begin trading very soon.

ENDS

Notes to Editors
More detailed director profiles follow.

*Peer to peer lending was enabled by the Financial Markets Conduct Act that came into effect on 1 April 2014.

ABOUT HARMONEY

Harmoney operates New Zealand’s first licensed Peer to Peer Lending platform bringing together people that want to lend and prime creditworthy borrowers that want to borrow, a marketplace that has existed for generations but until now has been closed to retail investors.

Harmoney’s founders and management team have a proven track record starting a business in 2001 that processed $3b in personal loan applications over a 5 year period before a successful sale to a US based conglomerate. The team has delivered shareholder value in excess of $1b over 12 years.

New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to overhaul securities law and to allow for peer top peer lending platforms which can act as a challenge to traditional banking.

The service providers are regulated, licensed and policed by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Peer to Peer Lending Platforms operate with benchmark operational costs far lower than any main street bank the savings from which are passed on to lenders that invest using the platform.

The investor/lender takes the same risks that the bank takes and enjoys the retail return.
Harmoney is currently the only FMA Licensed Peer to Peer Platform in New Zealand

Harmoney’s key advisers are AML Solutions, Simpson Grierson, Deloitte Partners and Dun & Bradstreet.

Please visit www.harmoney.com

http://www.fma.govt.nz/help-me-comply/peer-to-peer-lending/list-of-licensed-peer-to-peer-lending-services/

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