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.
Banks in no rush to join Facebook’s crypto project from Financial Times – It is interesting but not surprising that not one large bank has come out publicly supporting Facebook’s Libra project. In both the US and Europe banks have either been keeping quiet or are negative on the idea.
Monthly Jobs Report; Mortgage Fintech Innovation from PeerIQ – The weekly PeerIQ newsletter digs into Friday’s jobs report and looks at the state of play in mortgage innovation.
A brief history—and future—of credit scores from The Economist – Interesting piece in The Economist on the history of credit scores and the rise of alternative data in developing countries.
Digital banks seek to turn popularity into profits from Financial Times – The digital banking movement in the UK is led by the likes of Monzo . They are bringing a fundamentally different business model to banking but can they make a profit?
Landbay announces £1bn funding to support buy-to-let lending from UKTN – The UK buy-to-let fintech lender Landbay has closed a huge £1b funding agreement with “a leading financial institution”.
Peer-to-Peer Lending- State of the Market Report 2019 from AltFi – Excellent report out this week on the European p2p lending market by AltFi.
Royal Bank of Scotland ‘in discussions’ with Facebook about Libra from Yahoo Finance – It seems at least one bank has started discussions with Facebook’s Libra. Oscar Williams-Grut is reporting that RBS are “in discussions with Facebook around Libra and what it might be and where it might go.”
Amazon’s Impending Invasion Of Banking from Forbes – A new report out last week from the Bank for International Settlements includes commentary on big tech in finance. Ron Shevlin provides his perspective on the how and when this will likely play out, focusing specifically on Amazon.
Former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney’s New Blockchain Startup Is Issuing $85 Million In Loans A Month from Forbes – They launched less than a year ago and already Figure is issuing $85 million in HELOCs a month. The borrowers don’t know it but all loans are originated on the Provenance blockchain.
European challenger bank N26 launches in the U.S. from VentureBeat – Well it has finally happened. German fintech leader N26 has launched in beta in the US after first announcing their move here in 2017. They are the first of the European digital banks to launch here and will partner with Axos Bank.
Coast Capital Savings and OnDeck Canada Announce Small Business Partnership from OnDeck – North of the border a significant fintech partnership was announced today. OnDeck is partnering with the largest credit union in Canada, Coast Capital , to enable more small business lending there (press release).
Banks and FinTech Partnerships: a Clash of Extremes from The Finanser – Some interesting advice from the trenches as a fintech CEO shares the reality of what it is like trying to forge partnerships with banks.
Mastercard powers pay advance for hourly and gig workers from Tearsheet – The day is coming when many (perhaps most) workers will be able to access their earned wages whenever they want. Now, Mastercard is getting in on this trend.
