The UK based digital banking firm 11:FS has hired fintech expert Sam Maule to help head up their expansion into North America; "Having made a great impact in the first 15 months of 11:FS' life, we now feel we can have a similar impact with Sam at the helm in North America and Canada, helping organizations really understand what digital transformation within their banks and insurers truly means," CEO David Brear explained; 11:FS is also looking to open a New York office and named entrepreneur and investor Lisa Gansky as non-executive director. Source
LendIt has announced the judges for its annual PitchIt @ LendIt Europe competition to be held on October 9 and 10; judges include Rob Moffat of Balderton Capital, Reshma Sohoni of Seedcamp, Dan Cobley of Blenheim Chalcot and Patrick Meisberger of CommerzVentures; in comments regarding the competition and its judges, Jason Jones, co-founder and chief executive of LendIt, said: "The high caliber of judges we've had over the years is a testament to how the competition has evolved, and it's inspiring to see another strong panel taking to the stage for the competition. I'm confident that their diverse professional backgrounds will see one of the most exciting PitchIt competitions yet." Source
UK online lender WiseAlpha has added corporate bonds to its investment offerings on the platform; previously the firm primarily focused on offering corporate loan investments; the corporate bonds will expand the platform's institutional debt offerings and the firm will also allow for trading on its secondary market. Source
Old Mutual has been decreasing its position in the Fund throughout the year and has now reduced it even further; in March 2017 Old Mutual reduced its stake to below 6% and following its most recent move its stake is now less than 4.99%; according to AltFi, the VPC Specialty Lending Fund is the second largest online lending and alternative credit fund with approximately GBP351 million ($456 million); the Fund has been experiencing losses in recent months and the managers have been enacting a share buyback strategy while also shifting its positioning to greater allocation in balance sheet investments. Source
Tandem is a banking app to help individuals manage their finances; according to the Financial Times, the acquisition will provide GBP80 million ($103.8 million) of capital as well as a banking license; Tandem lost their banking license earlier this year after a failed investment by a Chinese conglomerate; the firm was concerned about whether China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange would approve the transaction; the acquisition still has to go through regulatory approval but if approved will allow Tandem to offer savings accounts. Source
The idea behind Humaniq was to bring the underbanked, a number that estimates around 3.5 billion worldwide, into the banking world; in an interview with the Huffington Post, Humaniq CEO Dinis Guarda talks about the solution they are bringing to the market; they are working with emerging economies where people live on $2.50 a day and have access to a smartphone; the Humaniq banking app will allow these individuals to have access to chats, wallets, payments, microloans and peer-to-peer lending services; they are doing an initial test in Ghana, allowing users to chat and make payments with their phones to local merchants; offering the underbanked a solution is something that can help lift communities and ultimately countries out of poverty. Source
The Ranger Direct Lending Fund announced its second quarter 2017 dividend; the Fund has decreased its dividend to 24.26 pence per ordinary share; the lower dividend was a result of ongoing issues with investment in the Princeton Alternative Income Fund which had exposure to troubled lending platform Argon Credit; the Fund's returns have also been lower over the past few months and it has increased its cash holdings. Source
LendingCrowd will give investors GBP150 ($195) for every GBP2,500 ($3,257) investment they make on the platform through August 31; the offer is open to new and existing investors and can also be obtained through investment in the firm's new IFISA; the Edinburgh-based peer-to-peer lending platform is primarily focused on SME loans and has originated GBP15 million ($19.5 million) in cumulative lending from 182 loans. Source
P2P lenders in the UK will be required to give information to investors on loan performance; the new measure is expected to be announced this year with implementation not likely until mid-2018; both information on delinquent loans and due diligence were included in the FCA's interim consultation paper; the latest review by the FCA is the second in two years. Source
Challenger banks, including Virgin Money, TSB and Metro Bank, are seeing a market that is becoming more crowded by the day and profit margins in lending areas are being trimmed; mortgage rates coming down and customer acquisition costs going up are two of the main reasons for these worries; pricing in consumer credit has also forced some of these banks to pull out of that segment all together as competition has become too much; the newest space entrants, like Atom, Monzo and Starling, are only adding to the heated environment; Richard Iferenta from KPMG explains to the Financial Times, "The challenge is, if you want to build a bank, how do you get sufficient scale, attract a big customer base, and make a lot of money."; one group who is particularly benefiting is the consumer, they are seeing prices come down and new innovative products hit the market that are helping them to better understand their finances. Source