During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.
Two Decades of Fintech Investing with Matt Harris from Rebank – Super interesting Rebank Podcast episode with Matt Harris discussing the state of fintech today. Money quote: “No one is going to succeed in consumer fintech without lending. There is just so much of the margin in banking that comes from credit”
LendInvest completes first £259m securitisation as it looks to further take market share from big banks from AltFi – In the UK LendInvest has completed its first securitization deal. The £259m transaction received a AAA rating (for the senior tranche) for the portfolio of buy-to-let loans.
London now has more fintech unicorns than San Francisco from Yahoo Finance – London is the undisputed fintech capital in Europe and it now boasts more fintech unicorns (18) than San Francisco (15).
JPMorgan spends $11 billion on technology. But a top exec at the giant bank says some clients don’t want it to be a tech company. from Business Insider – JPMorgan Chase spends billions every year on technology but their head of digital investment banking said their clients don’t want them to become a tech company.
Peer-to-peer groups battle to survive more hostile market from Financial Times – The UK p2p lending sector is going to go through some changes with many expecting a shift away from retail investors to institutions as has happened in the US.
Student-Debt Relief for Employees from The Wall Street Journal – There is legislation pending in Congress that will provide favorable tax treatment to companies offering student loan payment help to employees. If passed this will become a standard benefit for all Fortune 500 companies and more.
UK digital bank Monzo takes first steps into U.S. market from Reuters – The British are coming! One of the leading digital banks in the UK Monzo has announced they will be launching in the US soon.
Chime reports big user growth, but rival Varo questions numbers from American Banker – The CEO of Chime says they now have 4 million users and thinks they can grow to 25 million accounts in the next few years.
These 5 Charts Show Why London’s Fintech Scene Could Soon Eclipse Silicon Valley’s from Business Insider – Regardless of Brexit challenges the London fintech industry is booming like never before.
Gary Cohn-Backed Blockchain Startup Raises $23 Million in Project Funds from Bloomberg – The future of identity and credit data is decentralized, I think most of us agree with that. Leading the charge is Spring Labs who just closed a $25M Series A.
Employers Help Workers Build Household-Emergency Funds from The Wall Street Journal – More employers are waking up to the importance of financial health to their employees…and many are attacking this challenge in innovative ways. Good coverage in the Wall Street Journal of this new trend.
Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency, Libra, Gets Big Backers from The Wall Street Journal – The new Facebook crypto project is going to be fascinating to see it unfold. They have some big name backers to help launch their new digital coin.
An Open Letter To Amazon: You, Too, Can be a Financial Health Company from Forbes – The always interesting Jennifer Tescher pens a letter to Amazon expressing disappointment in their new secured debit card and giving the company some ideas on how to really move the needle in financial health.
Amazon seeks to revive its faltering loans business from Financial Times – More on Amazon . The Financial Times did some digging into Amazon Lending and after a couple of years of little growth it looks like the online behemoth is gearing up for expansion of their small business lending operation.
