Australia is beginning to feel the digital banking waves as challengers Volt and Judo begin to make inroads into a...
Japanese bank Nomura has taken a 22 percent stake in AI startup Aim2 to apply the technology to financial markets;...
Ant Financial is building a new platform for selling money market funds online; it is also introducing "Fortune Accounts" which will sell a broad range of investment products to Chinese consumers through its wealth management app; the first companies to partner for the Fortune Accounts are Bosera Funds, Aegon-Industrial Fund, Tianhong Fund, China Southern Fund and CCB Principal Fund with more companies to be added in June when the platform launches; Ant Financial says it plans to only develop technology to improve platforms for financial institutions, branding itself as a techfin company with no plans to develop its own financial services. Source
Karun Thareja, Faircent's chief marketing officer, talks about the firm's business model and technology; the firm is one of the largest peer-to-peer consumer lenders in India and offers its investors annual returns ranging to 20%; it has built a comprehensive loan operating system with integrated client relationship management technology and lead generation channels; recently it has been focused on client acquisition through Facebook which it has integrated with its platform for customer communication. Source
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A consortium of banks including OCBC Bank, HSBC and MUFG along with Infocomm Media Development Authority completed a KYC blockchain proof of concept; the development can make KYC more secure and efficient, as well as help to crack down on money laundering. Source.
Shanghai Securities News reported on market statistics and a continued commitment by Chinese authorities this week to manage fraudulent financing activities in the country; 5,197 new criminal cases were reported in 2016 involving 251.1 billion yuan ($36.5 billion); Yang Yuzhu, a Chinese regulatory director involved with a meeting of regulators, says, "The cases severely destroyed the order of financial markets."; in 2016 China approved the arrest of over 9,000 people on suspicion of illegal solicitation of public deposits and it prosecuted over 14,000; regulators plan to continue with enforcement action; they are also considering prohibiting organizations and individuals from publishing investment-related advertisements and are requesting provincial governments to closely examine potential illegal funding activities from May to July. Source
For the second quarter, Yirendai reported revenue of $174.5 million, beating estimates by $16.36 million and increasing revenue 58% from the second quarter of 2016; earnings per share remained steady at $0.66 and beat earnings estimates by $0.04; the company reported loans originated of $1.2 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 80% in comparison to the second quarter of 2016. Source
Asset allocation is an emerging concept increasingly being introduced to Chinese retail investors who have historically invested in highly volatile markets; CreditEase is one fintech company in the region seeking to educate and support more strategic investing through robo advisory services; the fintech company launched its Toumi robo adviser service in May 2016; the automated service provides advice for clients based on age, risk aversion and other preferences; it offers stable returns with low fees; with numerous cases of fraud from fintech investing in China more of the retail population is interested in safer robo advisory investment options; the country currently has approximately RMB 100 trillion ($14.5 trillion) in personal investable assets with nearly all the major banks developing new robo adviser services. Source
BBVA has invested in Sinovation Ventures as the fund can help to strike partnerships for the bank and they see the potential for strong return on investment; the focus on AI is helping the bank to keep innovating and offer mor potential services across their different regions. Source.