HSBC is looking to test the new app to help in preparation for the coming open banking regulations; the app will allow customers to look at all their accounts including loans from 21 different banks; Becky Moffat, head of personal banking and advice at HSBC, tells Banking Technology “Through our Beta app we want to give our customers a complete and joined-up view of their financial life.” Source.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set up an asset management startup hub to help companies as they move between pre-authorization and authorization; the hub will help new entrants to better understand regulations, increase engagement and help to increase the quality of companies. Source.
An article in Business Insider highlights a $96 billion hedge fund, Man Group; the firm initially held off on rolling out their AI powered trading bot out broadly until recently; by 2015 AI was contributing half of the profits to Man Group’s largest funds. Source
Fidelity’s chief executive Abigail Johnson spoke about the company’s current projects involving cryptocurrency at the Consensus conference; they have made venture investments and are also looking at applications of blockchain technology; Fidelity has set up a mining operation which is making money for the company. Source
Former Securities Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt, Sarah Friar, chief financial officer at Square, and Scott Sanborn, CEO of Lending Club recently spoke on a panel about regulation for fintech companies and recent improprieties; Sanborn noted that sound corporate governance is not unique to fintech, referencing the Wells Fargo story; panelists discussed that regulation is always behind innovation and how regulators and fintech companies may strike a balance. Source
When Tandem Bank acquired Harrod’s Bank in August there were three main reasons for the move; FT Alphaville reports Harrod’s had a banking license, the deal came with a $13.4mn capital injection to fund the company through to deal approval and an additional $107mn from existing investors. Source.
The use cases of blockchain technology has increased significantly in 2017; Business Insider looks at how the technology behind bitcoin is being used in international payments, capital markets, trade finance, regulation, money laundering, insurance and peer to peer transaction; they also look at other industries like healthcare, real estate, media, energy and more. Source.
Goldman Sachs first entered the market with the acquisition of GE Bank and the subsequent launch of GS bank; Tearsheet explores their other moves in the market more recently in fintech; Goldman Sachs has invested in 23 fintech startups and is the only top ten bank that has hit every category in its investments: blockchain, data analytics, insurance, personal finance, wealth management, financial services software, lending, payments and settlement, real estate and regulatory technology. Source
American Banker shares some of the companies that may stand to benefit from the Equifax hack as identity verification becomes top of mind; Mitek is planning to roll out a new product called Mobile Verify for Lending; other companies that have similar solutions include Trulioo, VixVerify and AuthenticID. Source