Aviva purchased a majority stake in robo-advisor Wealthify only 18 months after their head of retirement solutions criticized automated advice; Wealthify will sit alongside other Aviva products and services through the insurer’s digital hub, MyAviva; the insurer sees this as another important step in their digital strategy. Source
AltFi takes an in-depth look at the oldest P2P lender Zopa and how they are positioning themselves for the future; recent partnerships with the Saffron Building Society and the coming PSD2 regulatory changes are key ingredients to the company’s future; Zopa also has plans to introduce a number of new products when it launches their bank in 2018. Source
In a recently recorded speech, Rhydian Lewis said that the company expects to be profitable in 2018; the p2p lender was previously profitable in financial years 2014 and 2015; the company is also celebrating its seventh birthday and has facilitated £2.1bn in loans, connecting 57,000 lenders with 388,000 borrowers. Source
LendInvest Co-Founder & CEO Christian Faes challenged the UK government to put more support behind small scale developers at the Conservative Party Conference; “There is a clear monopoly in the sector,” says Mr. Faes; to even the playing field LendInvest and others say more regulatory action can help to tip the scales in favor of property entrepreneurs. Source
FinLab aims to help fintech startups that are helping American consumers; it is funded through a five-year grant from JPMorgan; in total 26 companies have worked or are working with Finlab; TechCrunch profiles how the innovation lab works which includes programs to help startups understand how the banking industry works and meetings in Washington with regulators. Source
An opinion piece in American Banker highlights the challenges the marketplace lending industry faced in 2016; Alenka Grealish, a senior analyst at Celent believes that we will see consolidation and more partnerships in the remainder of 2017 and into 2018; discusses the advantages and challenges both fintechs and banks have and what may happen in a downturn. Source
Carey Olsen discusses offshore corporate structures for fintech companies; these smaller jurisdictions offer many benefits including allowing regulators to be more agile and a broader toolbox of corporate vehicles; Carey Olsen has expertise in advising fintech businesses in the British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey; shares the variations in regulation across these jurisdictions in their blog post. Source
The LendIt content team that created the agenda for our upcoming European event on October 9 & 10 share:
- The main trends that are happening in European fintech today.
- What is different and similar when it comes to fintech in Europe, USA and China.
- How LendIt Europe is going to work and what attendees can expect.
- The networking opportunities for attendees at LendIt Europe.
- How Brella, our 1-to-1 networking tool, works.
- Some of the highlighted sessions at the show.
- How attendees will be able to get the most out of their two days at LendIt Europe.
Student loan servicer Navient has acquired fintech firm Earnest for $155mn; the motivation behind the deal will pave the way for Navient to enter the lending business; “We’re looking to be the major player in the student loan refi space,” said Navient CEO Jack Remondi in an interview with the WSJ. Source.
Finastra, R3 and seven global banks are teaming up to build a blockchain based marketplace for syndicated loans; banks include BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, HSBC, ING and State Street; Fusion LenderComm, which uses R3's Corda platform, will be able to handle real-time credit agreements, accrual balances, position information and transaction data. Source.