Blend Network is a UK-based company, offering asset-backed property loans to retail, high net worth and institutional investors; officially launching loans on the site two weeks ago, the firm has raised GBP350,000 ($460,115) from a small network of investors; loans are expected to offer between eight and 15% with a minimum investment of GBP1,000 ($1,315); loans are introduced by F&P who acts as a sponsor in the P2P sector; the firm introduces borrowers to a wide variety of lenders and currently works with platforms such as ThinCats. Source
Swedish fintech Klarna Bank has launched a free P2P payments service; the new service is called Wavy and is available for consumers across 31 European markets; the service allows for simplified payment redemption with the receiver able to redeem the funds directly to their bank account. Source
InvestCloud is helping automated investment platforms with ISA offerings through their newest product, Emerald; Nutmeg partnered with InvestCloud for its Lifetime ISA; InvestCloud now has over 670 clients using the Emerald technology. Source
Ablrate was recently authorized by the FCA and is now launching their custom Innovative Finance ISA; Ablrate offers a self-select marketplace where investors hand pick the loans they look to invest in; this is one of many products the company will launch in this arena; Ablrate facilitates asset-backed loans with specialization in aircraft and capital equipment; they currently will take cash deposits for their IFISA but no transfers as David Bradley-Ward, CEO of Ablrate, tells AltFi, "We want to be able to get everyone going with their IFISA first and then allow transfers in from other providers after the first week of our launch." Source
N26 has partnered with Auxmoney to offer consumer loans; the partnership will open the loan offering to the digital bank's over 300,000 customers, providing options for self-employed, freelancers and students; loans will range from EUR1,000 ($1,181) to EUR25,000 ($29,527) with terms ranging from 12 to 60 months and annual interest rates beginning at 3.95%. Source
The two companies are both based in Berlin and will collaborate on SME loan financing; solarisBank has initially provided an eight digit investment for financing loans on the Lendico peer-to-peer lending platform; Lendico launched in 2014 and has total lending volume of over EUR100 million. Source
Creditshelf is a German marketplace focused on SME financing and they just received a $17.7 million infusion from Banco BNI Europea; the bank will initially invest in the existing loan portfolio then increase that by $2.4 million a month; Pedro Coelho, executive chairman of BNI Europa, stated, "With the Creditshelf team, we have identified a highly professional partner, whose credit analysis process has proven totally convincing to us."; Creditshelf's managing director, Dr. Daniel Bartsch, explained, "We are delighted at finding another institutional investor for our platform, who is totally persuaded by the attractive risk-return profile of our product." Source
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing that they include P2P platforms in the review of the high cost credit industry; the city watchdog said in a release that there is currently a gap in the regulations for P2P; according to the watchdog this means creditworthiness requirements will be enacted when there is a "significant increase in the amount of credit or the credit limit under a P2P agreement"; the FCA explained further changes could come after this initial review period ends on October 31; John Coley, financial services risk director at PwC, explained to Peer2Peer Finance News, "The FCA has published proposals that potentially have a significant impact on firms operating in the consumer credit sector, these include proposed changes for assessing creditworthiness, feedback on its rules limiting so-called payday-loans, and insights into its continuing work into the motor vehicle finance sector." Source
Assetz Capital-as-a-Service (ACaaS) allows for full integration of the Assetz Capital API into websites and apps; the integration allows users to integrate the Assetz Capital peer-to-peer lending platform into other financial services businesses; UK financial account aggregator Bud is the first to integrate the solution with enhancements planned for the partnership; Assetz Capital is the the UK's second largest peer-to-peer finance platform for business and property and the firm says the solution will help increase visibility of the platform to a broader target market. Source
Žltý Melón's new offering for investors will allow them to lend money to homebuyers to help finance mortgage deposits; launched in 2012 the platform has facilitated EUR7 million (USD $8.2 million) to borrowers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; the new loan offering, called the CashFree Hypo loan, will be available to anyone who has been approved for a standard mortgage by a bank in Slovakia. Source