Clearbanc just launched a valuation tool that its cofounders are calling a credit score for startups. Here’s what entrepreneurs need...
HNA is one of China's most ambitious private conglomerate investors, investing $45 billion in global deals in the last three years with high profile deals including the buyout of Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital, and multi-billion dollar stakes in Deutsche Bank AG and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.; Bloomberg reports on how the business is financed; its findings show a network of capital providers including a number of shadow bank lenders as well as trusts and asset managers resulting in over $10 billion of unlisted shares pledged to non-bank lenders and interest rates from shadow bank financings that far exceed benchmark rates from bank loans and bond issuances; Bloomberg reports additional details on HNA's financing structure and shadow banking loans as well as the shadow banking platforms it currently operates as subsidiaries. Source
Silicon Valley Bank has a joint venture partnership with Shanghai Development Bank Co. Ltd; the partnership led the bank to open its first Chinese branch in Shanghai in 2012 and the firm has now announced their second location in Beijing; the banking branch in Beijing has 14 employees and will offer services for companies in technology, private equity and venture capital which are a key focus for Silicon Valley Bank globally. Source
Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced the first members of its new regulatory sandbox: NOW Money and Tramonex; H.E. Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive of the Economic Development Board of Bahrain (EDB) explains to AltFi, "In addition to the development of the regulatory sandbox, we have a number of further initiatives we expect to be launched in the coming months including a venture capital fund-of-funds."; NOW Money offers users in the Gulf region mobile banking and Tramonex helps companies process and transfer funds online. Source
Regulators are inspecting Chinese P2P lenders for compliance with new rules issued last year; specifically lenders must partner with a custodian and limit loans to RMB 1 million ($144,200) for individuals and RMB 5 million ($721,001) for companies; they are also not permitted to guarantee principal or interest; the country currently has more than 2,400 P2P lenders; experts expect the new rules will likely change the nation's P2P lending landscape significantly; Roger Ying, founder and chief executive of P2P lender Pandai stated: "[There] will be shakeouts, though good for those which are compliant. It will take time for P2Ps to move to custodian banks. Presumably the most risk for investors is with P2Ps who do not have escrow [or] custodian bank accounts as retail investor sentiment is low." Source
Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial has reported an investment in payment provider Mynt which has its business focus in the Philippines; Mynt currently has three million registered customers and reports one billion pesos ($19.9 million) worth of transactions per week; it provides services for consumers, merchants, and organizations primarily through its GCash and Fuse Lending businesses; GCash serves as its micropayment service provider and Fuse Lending offers online personal and business loans. Source
MoolahSense, a marketplace lender focused on small business loans, has received a full Capital Markets Services (CMS) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); the MAS license allows the business to offer its loan investments in the country to a broad range of investors including retail investors, high net worth individuals and private funds. Source
Chinese regulators are considering custodian requirements for bitcoin to help mitigate effects from its market risks; the custodian support appears to be welcomed by platforms and investors in China; overall, Chinese regulators are taking a more active role in bitcoin market activity as Chinese investors increasingly account for a majority of bitcoin's trading volume. Source
WeLab is one of eight virtual banks that have received banking licenses from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority this year;...
The China Banking Regulatory Authority has mandated that all P2P lenders work with a custodian; a month after the requirement was announced, the majority of industry platforms have still not partnered with a custodian; most Chinese custodian banks do not offer P2P custodian services so the partnerships require added deliberation and communication; a number of new regulations are affecting the industry and it appears Chinese custodian banks will have a significant impact on the future of the industry given the online lenders they choose to partner with for P2P custodian services. Source