As banks look to reassess how to utilize their branch space, TearSheet took a close look at the Citizens Bank branch overhaul; the bank is looking to make the branch into digitally connected community centers; they are looking to reduce their branch footprint by 50 percent over the next decade and look to utilize the spaces they have better; less teller lines, more private meetings rooms and digital tools to help engage the different types of customers. Source.
An article in Tearsheet discusses how VCs are more interested in funding companies looking to improving legacy financial systems; Patricia Kemp, partner at Oak HC/FT responded to a comment about the prospects of consumer facing fintech in 2018 stating, “The largest category of successful fintech are the ones that are helping the banks get there.”; while there are still opportunities for new consumer solutions, it is just as important to innovate on back-end systems. Source
- MoneyLion Secures $42 Million Investment to Accelerate Growth
- Business-Loan Growth Fell Off a Cliff in 2017 and No One Can Figure Out Why
- ‘We don’t need to stay in the student market’: How BankMobile wants to grow its offering and replicate its model
- A Fight Over the Credit Score Lenders Use for Your Mortgage
- How banks use behavioral economics to win over customers
- Envestnet Finalizes Acquisition of FolioDynamix for $195 Million
- Prosper Marketplace Appoints Former Bank of America Executive Justine Metz Head of Marketing
- Tradeshift Partners with Infosys to Help Clients Digitize Supply Chain Management
- Commencement of Online Lending Service for Small Businesses That Leverages Accounting Big Data and AI Technology
- 95 Crypto Theses for 2018
- Merrill Lynch blocks bitcoin amid fear that the bubble could pop
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Founders Fund has amasses hundreds of millions of dollars or bitcoin recently; the fund started with about $10mn to $15mn worth of bitcoin and has since seen that initial investment skyrocket; while many traditional wall street names have yet to buy into bitcoin the move by Mr. Thiel and his fund point to their confidence in the currency; during an interview in October Mr. Thiel was reported to say, “While I’m skeptical of most of them, I do think people are a little bit underestimating bitcoin, specifically, because it is like a reserve form of money.” Source.
In 2017 the CFPB saw a ton of regulation and a battle for the successor to former director Richard Cordray; this coming year could be even more tumultuous as acting director Mick Mulvaney looks to undo many of the regulations Cordray put in place and the ensuing court battle over who is the rightful director; recent rule like the arbitration rule have been reversed and they payday lending regulation could be next to go; with a number of regulations in need or more clarity or a court decision the next 12 months could prove crucial for the future of the agency. Source.
The European Commission is developing new legislation that will help fintech companies, in particular crowdfunding sites and online lenders, operate and scale across single market member states; the idea is meant to create a digital single market, removing what some countries add on within their jurisdiction; this move could help propel funding for fintech companies and increase their ability to compete with companies in the US and Asia. Source.
It has been a long time since OnDeck and LendingClub went public in the US; the shares of both companies are down significantly since that time; now Funding Circle is planning to go public as late autumn, but what is the right valuation for the company? Financial Times reviews Funding Circle’s business and the importance of whether investors value it as a finance or software business. Source
Let’s Talk Payments shares several charts about the fintech ecosystem from 2017; includes the most funded fintech segments, the location of fintech startups around the globe, an analysis of the payments ecosystem and more. Source
Continuing their strategy of moving to balance sheet lending platforms the fund sold their entire holding in Prosper marketplace loans; the holding amounted to 4.1 percent of the company’s net asset value or NAV as of October 31st; the company also said they were able to reinvest all the process form the Prosper sale into balance sheet investments and have increased their balance sheet exposure to 79 percent of the fund. Source.
Codispoti originally joined JP Morgan Chase to create a credit card that would appeal to millennials; this led to the launch of the Sapphire Reserve; now Codispoti is focused on overseeing JPMorgan’s branches and how they can better serve millennials, which make up 61% of their new customers; the current vision includes advice centers similar to Apple’s Genius Bar. Source