This year 's New Year honours list saw " alternative financiers ” nominated for gongs rather than traditional bankers . Among them was Giles Andrews , co - founder of Zopa , which has so far overseen £ 1.2bn worth of lending to individuals since it was founded ten years ago , and is “ a core part of the revolution transforming the way we borrow . ” According to Andrews , ‘ It ’s a very exciting start to the New Year ( the OBE) … There has been quite a lot in the press about the fact no banker won an award in the New Year honours list . It ’s because banks do n’t treat banks very well . I think anyone who knew anything about the industry knows that was true even before the crisis . ’ The OBE for Andrews , and a spokesman for Samir Desai of Funding Circle , are being seen as “ a clear sign that the highest authorities are willing to give the nascent sector their support . ”
This year's New Year honours list saw "alternative financiers” nominated for gongs rather than traditional bankers. Among them was Giles Andrews, co-founder of Zopa, which has so far overseen £1.2bn worth of lending to individuals since it was founded ten years ago, and is “a core part of the revolution transforming the way we borrow.” According to Andrews, ‘It’s a very exciting start to the New Year (the OBE)…There’s been quite a lot in the news about the fact no banker won an award in the New Year honours list. It’s because banks don’t treat customers very well. I think anyone who knew anything about the industry knew that was true even before the crisis.’ The OBE for Andrews, and a CBE for Samir Desai of Funding Circle, are being seen as “a clear sign that the highest authorities are willing to give the nascent sector their blessing.”