The UK marketplace lending industry is likely to see several factors causing change in 2017; the Financial Conduct Authority has reported several concerns which may increase regulatory pressure; demand for loans and capital investment are also slowing; larger platforms will have a greater advantage while the smaller platforms may see greater challenges; competition and partnerships among traditional financial service providers and fintech companies will also continue to be significant for the market overall. Source
Deloitte's third quarter deal tracking report finds a 7% increase in UK deals for P2P lenders in the cumulative 12 months; third quarter of 2016 included 67 deals; deals in the UK increased 21% while deals in the remainder of Europe increased by 29%; the report tracks comprehensive deal activity including fundraising, mergers, acquisitions and partnerships for 50 alternative lenders across Europe. Source
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) works with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK to protect investments for consumers; the FSCS is comparable to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the US; the FCA is currently conducting research and undergoing consultation on the crowdfunding market; current consultation has involved communication between the FSCS and FCA on potential solutions for insuring funds; it's not likely that insured funds will be integrated into the FCA's new crowdfunding regulations however the two agencies are discussing options. Source
Latvian marketplace lender Mintos has announced it will be expanding its loan offerings to include loans denominated in Czech koruna to avoid currency risk for investors; firm is the third European lender following Creamfinance and Acema to expand to the koruna; says it also has plans for additional currency offerings. Source
Nutmeg has received 12 million British pounds ($14.74 million) in capital from investor Taipei Fubon Bank; the 12 million British pound fundraise follows a Series C fundraising round in November led by Convoy Global Holdings; the funding will help to support the firm's rapid growth; assets under management for its robo advisor service have been increasing significantly and are now at approximately 600 million British pounds ($736.85 million); success has been driven by demand for its discretionary investment management service which also offers low fees. Source
Non-bank lenders in the Netherlands have been capitalizing on the global financial crisis and decreased lending from banks; Jeroen van Hessen's Dutch Mortgage Funding Company has been a leader in non-bank mortgage lending, a market that now attributes 20% of the 662 billion euros ($693 billion) mortgage market to non-bank lenders; Hessen was a market leader in the non-bank lending movement which has attracted interest from institutional investors willing to bypass traditional channels for higher returns; the effects from non-bank entrants have begun to show more significantly in the mortgage lending market where market share for mortgage originations from the region's top three banks fell below 50% for the first time in 2016; non-bank lending in the Netherlands has also increased interest from surrounding European investors familiar with non-bank platforms. Source
N26 is a smartphone only bank that was originally launched in Germany and has big backers like Peter Thiel behind it; Vincent Haupert, a PhD student at the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, told the Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg how he and two colleagues found N26 security defenses riddled with holes that could have been used to defraud thousands of users; Haupert presented his findings to the bank and they have since stated that the issues found have been addressed. Source
UK-based mobile banking app Monese raised $10 million in funding from Anthemis Exponential Ventures, Korea Investment Partners and STE Capital; funds will be used to expand into continental Europe and to offer new credit and direct debit services; since launching in 2015 the company has signed up 40,000 customers from 179 countries who have made 1.8 million transactions; total dollars transacted is over $180 million. Source
British Business Bank will be increasing its investment through P2P lenders by adding another 40 million British pound ($49.71 million) investment at Funding Circle; the investment follows some skepticism from UK taxpayers about the Bank's investment management of government funds; following the release of the Financial Conduct Authority's interim update on crowdfunding, it was reported that the British Business Bank had 85 million British pounds ($105.64 million) invested in the P2P lending industry with 60 million British pounds ($74.57 million) invested at Funding Circle; in a statement on the new investment, Funding Circle says over 5 million British pounds ($6.21 million) in interest has been earned by Funding Circle on behalf of the UK taxpayer since March 2013. Source
In December 2016 real estate P2P lender Wellesley began a fundraising campaign on Seedrs and also received a First Gazette notice for late accounts; a recent report from the Financial Times says the company is dependent on raising new capital in order to stay in business; its Seedrs campaign is targeting 1.5 million British pounds ($1.85 million) and has raised 195,000 British pounds ($240,280). Source