The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is beginning to give community bankers in the US headaches; the law applies to all companies processing and holding data of people who reside in the EU; if a EU citizen visits your website you could be subject to the law; community banks are starting to enlist legal help to better understand how they can protect themselves from steep penalties. Source.
On CNBC's Squawk Box Ray Dalio, the founder of the world's largest hedge fund spoke negatively about bitcoin stating "It's not an effective storehold of wealth because it has volatility to it, unlike gold. Bitcoin is a highly speculative market. Bitcoin is a bubble."; he went on to say that it could be a currency and work conceptually but the speculation going on hurts it. Source
Younited Credit is a marketplace lending platform that operates in France, Italy and Spain; the round included the French public investment bank Bpifrance among several other investors; total funding is now €103 mn for the company; François Fournier, chief innovation executive of Bpifrance stated, "We were attracted by Younited Credit’s team and by its unique positioning built in Europe. Its innovative digital platform model, great product agility thanks to big data, as well as its solid regulatory strategy, inspire confidence and sustainability." Source
JPMorgan Chase has been active in fintech partnerships with firms like Truecar, OnDeck and Roostify; they are now partnering with Bill.com in an effort to eliminate paper checks; JPMorgan spent $600 mn last year building fintech solutions and partnering with firms according to a letter CEO Jamie Dimon sent to shareholders in April. Source
Peter Renton from Lend Academy reflects on the news from SoFi last week which involved sexual harassment at the company; Renton shares his perspective on this problem, which is not specific to any one company or any one industry; there are many recent examples of women who are starting to speak out about inappropriate treatment and the negative behavior is starting to have real consequences. Source
China International Capital Corporation (CICC), China’s HK-listed tier 1 investment bank, announced on Wednesday that it will introduce Tencent as a strategic shareholder (4.95%); CICC says the company will be able to provide more customized wealth management products and services through its cooperation with Tencent in terms of targeted marketing and big data analysis; the two parties will establish a “strategic cooperation committee” that composed of executives from both companies to facilitate the cooperation; the deal is pending regulatory approval. Source (Chinese)
PingAn Bank on Wednesday launches its robo-advisor services, which utilize black-litterman model and quantitative asset allocation methodology to customize users’ investment portfolio based on their risk preferences. Source (Chinese)
While the crackdown on bitcoin in China has hurt the value of the digital currency, prices have stabilized and traders are confident this is a blip on the radar; what traders are more focused on is the technology behind the currency and the blockchain protocol has not been affected; there are also reports that say the crackdown is temporary and China has become less central as overall volume has dropped. Source.
Deposit marketplace Raisin moved into the UK market by acquiring Manchester-based fintech PBF Solutions; Tamaz Georgadze, Raisin’s CEO and founder, tells AltFi “The acquisition of PBF gives us the opportunity to significantly broaden our offer to UK savers and deposit takers." Source.