American Banker reports on the Small Business Administrations lending programs; loan volume for the 7(a) working capital program increased 5% in fiscal 2017 to $25.4 billion; the 7(a) program has increased by almost 70% since 2012; the 504 real estate program increased 6.3% over the prior year period; American Banker discusses the increase of loans to minorities, the biggest markets for SBA loans and the biggest banks in the space. Source
In an interview with Business Insider at LendIt Europe Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky discussed the company’s continued record growth and office culture; he explains, "Nowadays people are all international. Banks are not providing this service. The vision for us is alternative global banking. Anyone in the world can just download the Revolut app and set up a local bank account to access any services they need.”; the interview also touched on the drive of his employees and his kite surfing hobby. Source.
In an interview with Business Insider at LendIt Europe Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana says even though new investors are on hold they are growing lending volumes by as much as 50 percent; the investor waiting list is over 15,000 and the current plan is to have them start investing by year end; the interview also touched on consumer credit and the overall economy in the UK. Source.
Genesis Capital is based in Los Angeles and provides capital to house flippers; they were founded in 2007 and lent $1 billion last year; the move shows Goldman’s continued interest in other areas outside their trading business; investor spending on the fix and flip market has grown recently, but still remains below pre-crisis levels. Source
P2Bi is an asset-based small business lender; yesterday they announced a new partnership with New Resource Bank; Krista Morgan, CEO and Co-Founder explains how it works: “Businesses that don’t qualify for traditional bank financing are evaluated by P2Bi for a partnership loan based on joint credit policy criteria. Qualified businesses are extended an asset-backed line of credit with capital provided by the bank in a senior secured position, and the P2Bi marketplace in the second position.” Source
In a blog on the company’s website David Farmer, Director of Communications, explained the ability for customers to instantly purchase digital currency using a US bank account; customers can now buy up to $25,000 and receive access to their digital currency immediately. Source.
A new report from Kantar says UK financial institutions could be missing a £130bn ($173) opportunity by not winning over women; they are not targeting women in ads and are missing the potential for a significant boost in savings and investment; the report also shows that 38 percent of women feel in control of their financial future and women retire with a third of the savings compared to men; targeting women can not only help to bring these number up but the study also shows women are more apt to recommend financial services than men. Source.
In an interview with P2P Finance News, Christine Farnish talks about their relationship with the Financial Conduct Authority, the recent departures of LendInvest and RateSetter from the group and updates to membership criteria; Farnish teased that there will be major changes to the way the P2PFA operates coming in November. Source
Peter Renton, co-founder of LendIt shares his takeaways from LendIt Europe 2017; discusses presentations from many of the presenters on the keynote stage. Source