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Fintech

·Mar. 24, 2017

Lend Academy Article: Potential Applications of Blockchain for Real Estate

Lend Academy reviews a session on applying blockchain to real estate after attending MIPIM, the world's largest conference dedicated to real estate; one company helping run a pilot is velox.RE; company is working with Chicago's Cook County on a program for transferring and tracking property titles as well as filing liens; the three perceived benefits are: a permanent, immutable public record that is immune to well-funded nation-state attacks, a path towards paperless land transfers and so-called "e-deeds" and reduced costs for offices across the country that want to upgrade electronic document processing systems; other applications for blockchain in real estate include tracking property ownership in emerging markets, real estate crowdfunding and tracking/transferring solar energy. Source

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Fintech News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 24, 2017

Auto Innovation Focused on Collaboration, Not Disruption

Several startups are approaching the auto purchase and loan process by integrating with the existing system instead of attempting to upend the current model; Kevin Singerman, founder of AutoFi, who recently inked a deal with Ford stated: "The market is so big that there's nothing preventing someone from creating a new dealership model, but I want to go after the biggest part of the pie, which is how consumers buy cars today. That's a much more attractive opportunity."; startup AutoGravity who is backed by German carmaker Daimler has a similar approach, providing a white label service to dealers; Bloomberg provides details of the current state of the auto market and other industry participants. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 24, 2017

Fifth Third Makes $112mn Investment in Fintech

Fifth Third has announced a $112 million investment in a five year project that will upgrade its technology and help it to partner with fintech firms; enhancements involved with the upgrade include video conferencing with remote experts, Wi-Fi in branches, distance learning and real-time data feeds to fintech partners; following the investment the company will be driven more by its new web-services and APIs; it also plans to more openly partner with fintech companies for data sharing. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 24, 2017

Lufax Planning Wealth Management Platform Launch for 2017

Lufax is one of China's leading P2P lenders with support from Ping An Insurance; it is currently planning to launch a global asset allocation platform to facilitate investment for middle income earners across Asia in 2017; the platform will build on the company's offerings in P2P lending and wealth management; Lufax is also working with four investment banks on an initial public offering in Hong Kong. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 24, 2017

RBS Considering Mortgage Robo Advice and Closing 158 Branches

The Royal Bank of Scotland is closing 158 branches in the UK in an effort to reduce costs; it has continued to struggle since the financial crisis reporting nine consecutive years of losses; the firm has been increasingly integrating automation to cut costs and says it will make a decision on its robo advisory service for mortgage lending by the third quarter; the robo advisory service offers customers advice and insight that helps them decide on a mortgage loan product, also giving them an option to connect with a human advisor at any time during the process. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup Regulation

·Mar. 24, 2017

European Commission Considering Passporting for EU Fintech Companies

Passporting could increase fintech competitiveness across Europe as the UK prepares to leave the European Union; passporting would lower regulatory requirements for fintech firms in the European Union allowing them to operate more freely across Europe; it would also create greater incentive for firms to move their business to the European Union and away from London; the European Commission has launched a three month consultation period on passporting and new legislations for fintechs which will be followed with legislative proposals; on Thursday, March 23 the European Commission also published a plan for European Union financial services companies that will focus on reducing costs and increasing consumer protection. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 27, 2017

Redesigned Bank Branches Featuring Digital Advice

Customer facing technology is a high investment priority for traditional banks seeking to upgrade their operations to meet increasing market demand for more modern technology; many banks across the industry have reported enhancements and upgrades in their branch locations with remodeled branches integrating technology portals to replace human banking representatives; American Banker provides examples of newly designed banking sites from seven traditional banks. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 27, 2017

Challenger Banks and the Outlook for the Future of the UK’s Banking Market

Europe is leading the global market in challenger banks and also providing examples for the future of banking; as digital banks increasingly gain market share a number of Europe's large banks have announced branch closings including Lloyds, RBS and NatWest; AltFi discusses the ideal bank of the future reporting on the growth of challenger banks and their potential to open physical branch locations. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 27, 2017

DataRobot Raises $54mn for Machine Learning Business

DataRobot has raised $54 million for its machine learning technology service that can plug in and provide intelligence to any type of business; the $54 million funding round was led by existing investor New Enterprise Associates; the new funding brings total capital raised to over $100 million. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 27, 2017

Lenderwize Reporting Success in Online Lending Telco Platform

Marketplace crowdfunding platform Lenderwize is reporting success as the first online lending and project financing platform for telecommunications businesses; the firm offers invoice financing, project financing and equity financing with rates of return averaging 6% to 14% annually; they recently surveyed telcos in the industry finding among other statistics a cash flow market opportunity of $22 billion; the platform now has $7.3 million in borrower requests and $10 million committed from institutional investors and six equity investors; it is also expecting new capital from business development presentations at TechFluence's Fintech Meets Telecom in Frankfurt and the Fintech Circle and AngelDen's Pitch in London. Source

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