During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.
10 ways technology will change banking in 2019 from American Banker – Interesting predictions in American Banker on how technology will change banking in 2019.
‘It’s not us versus them’: How Radius Bank refined its partnership strategy with fintech firms from Tearsheet – Regional bank Radius Bank has been partnering with fintech companies for years. Zack Miller provides us with a look inside their partnership strategy.
Why fintech needs to start counting for the unimaginable 2020 from The Economic Times – The CEO of PayU India provides his insights on what developments are most important for the growth of fintech in India.
Banks shouldn’t count on overdraft fees forever from American Banker – I am convinced that fee revenue from overdrafts is going to move towards zero for banks in the coming years. So many fintech platforms are attacking this problem and some are getting serious traction.
Elliott-backed bank Chetwood targets UK customers from Financial Times – In the UK, a new fintech lender called Chetwood Financial received a full banking license in late December. They have an interesting product called a “dynamic loan” where the rate adjusts to become cheaper over time with improved credit rating.
Fintech start-up Plaid to buy competitor Quovo for $200 million in its first major deal from CNBC – Big fintech news out this week as Plaid is buying Quovo for a reported $200 million in their first significant acquisition.
Bankers joining fintechs find adrenalin and bruised egos from Financial Times – Both Vikram Pandit and Antony Jenkins were CEOs of large banks before they made the jump to fintech. Good piece in the FT on how this journey has been for them and other former bankers.
Meet CAN Capital’s New CEO from deBanked – Small business lender CAN Capital has a new CEO. Edward J. Siciliano is a former executive with Marlin Equipment Finance.
OCC seeks dismissal of states’ lawsuit opposing fintech charter from American Banker – The OCC has filed a motion to dismiss state regulators’ legal claims that the federal agency cannot grant charters to fintech firms.
Lending Startup Affirm to Test High-Interest Savings Accounts from Cheddar – Leading fintech lender Affirm is branching out beyond lending. They are working on “a pilot that gives existing Affirm users the ability to put money into a savings account via our app”.
Fintech funding reaches new high from American Banker – The U.S. venture capital industry remains bullish on fintech. Last year saw a record amount of investment, around $11 billion, into fintech startups.
Trained at OnDeck, LendingFront Founders Help Banks Lend to Small Businesses from deBanked – Founded by former OnDeck execs LendingFront has closed a $4 million Series A for their white label software. They license to banks and other financial institutions to improve the efficiency of small business lending.
Banking startup N26 raises $300 million at $2.7 billion valuation from TechCrunch – Leading European digital bank N26 has raised $300 million at a $2.7 billion valuation. They are focused on launching in the U.S. this year.
Fintechs may finally win charter chase in 2019 from American Banker – Interesting piece in American Banker on the fintech charter process: “the multi-pronged effort to get fintech firms through the bank regulatory door or provide them with a viable multistate alternative has an air of inevitability to it.”
An app called Tally wants to help you manage your credit card debt and make it easier to save money from Business Insider – Good profile of Tally and their automated credit card debt management system.
Fintech Sector Hurt by Shutdown from Rollcall – While the government shutdown continues, the impact on federal workers is painfully evident, it is also starting to create serious problems for fintech firms since the SEC is mostly shutdown.
From the Lend Academy Forum
The Lend Academy forum is where investors go to discuss p2p lending. Below are some topics that were being discussed this week.
Investor fee – A good reminder to investors about the fees they pay to LendingClub.
LC Securities Litigation Class Action Settlement – LendingClub stock investors part of the class action lawsuit are expecting to hear more about payments soon.
Evaluating ytm – An investor seeks to learn more about evaluating yield to maturity.
