Funding Circle to lay off 125 workers in Amsterdam and Berlin

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - British peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle will lay off 125 workers in Amsterdam and Berlin as it moves to focus on its more profitable home market, its Chief Executive Samir Desai told Reuters on Thursday.

The announcement came as Funding Circle reported a loss for 2019 of 84 million pounds ($107.57 million), which it largely attributed to problems in the two "developing markets" where it is now cutting staff.

The lender will keep a team of 25 staff based in London to run its Germany and Netherlands businesses, Desai said, which will now focus on partnering with local banks in those markets. ($1 = 0.7809 pounds) (Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Jan Harvey)