Goldmoney Invests in and Partners with U.K. Peer–to–Peer Lending Platform

Investment in Lend & Borrow Trust Company Ltd. enables clients to earn interest income on precious metals backed savings

Goldmoney Inc. announced an investment in and partnership with Isle of Man–based investment company LBT Holdings Ltd. (“LBTH”), parent company of Lend & Borrow Trust Company Ltd. (“LBT”), a U.K.–based online platform offering auction-rate peer-to-peer lending and borrowing collateralized by precious metals.

Unique to the U.K.’s fast-growing fintech industry, LBT is the first regulated peer–to–peer offering of its kind. Lenders are fully secured by borrowers’ investment-grade bullion, pledged as security, while borrowers can monetize and borrow against their own precious metal holdings.

The private investment gives Goldmoney the right to nominate a board member and the right to provide precious metal dealing and storage solutions to LBT clients. Goldmoney may also elect to implement facilities with LBT whereby eligible clients with a Goldmoney Holding – U.K. residents and businesses initially, with other countries added over time – can access LBT auction rates and earn interest income from loans fully secured by precious metal collateral.

LBT is authorized and regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority to operate an electronic system in relation to lending. The investment in LBTH includes common shareholders, including Eric Sprott as well as Lead Director and LBT Chairman James Turk.

“Goldmoney was founded on a mission to provide clients with unparalleled access to precious metals ownership with minimized counterparty risk. LBT has a similar goal of providing clients with an alternative for their national currency savings,” said Roy Sebag, CEO of Goldmoney. “LBT allows anyone to make a fiat currency deposit and earn a rate of interest backed by precious metal held as collateral, rather than a bank deposit that can be repeatedly fractionalized. LBT currency deposits have no banking counterparty risk, a revolutionary idea and one I believe many clients seek in the prevailing artificially-low interest rate environment known as return-free risk. We are delighted to invest in this early stage –  and potentially revolutionary – peer-to-peer lending model and provide our precious metal infrastructure to LBT clients.”

“After three years of development, we are pleased to announce the regulatory approval and launch of LBT, and thrilled to have Goldmoney, which has always been a leader in innovating gold with technology, as an investor and partner in this venture,” said James Turk. “We have built an online platform that enables lenders to reduce counterparty risk through fully-collateralized lending and earn interest income determined via live auctions. Borrowers can monetize their precious metal holdings in their choice of five national currencies with LBT’s innovative non-bank lending and borrowing offering. With the forthcoming integration of LBT services, the Goldmoney Holding will be an ideal savings alternative for individual clients, small-to-medium enterprises, institutions, and international businesses – including gold mining companies.”

To learn more about Lend & Borrow Trust Company Ltd., visit lendborrowtrust.com.