Singapore software-as-a-service company Lenddo has announced a new data partnership with Experian to support financial inclusion in Indonesia and Vietnam; the partnership will provide data analytics technology for Experian's Consumer Financial Inclusion Indexing platform; through the combined services of Lenddo and Experian, underserved banking consumers will gain access to financial services including remittances, savings, credit and wealth management services. Source
News Roundup
This page contains an archive of the Global Newsletter summaries and the weekly fintech news roundups.
Every day the Fintech Nexus news team scours the globe for the most important stories of the day to include in our daily newsletter.
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blooom has developed a digital advice platform for defined contribution employer benefit plans; it seeks to provide automation, transparency and simplicity around retirement investing; the platform currently offers both automated and personal financial advice through online chats with human advisors; it recently raised $9 million and plans to expand its client base from 6,000 to 50,000 by the end of 2017. Source
CNBC profiles three companies emerging in the banking industry with solutions built from machine learning technology; Digit has created a solution that integrates with a user's bank account to automate savings based on account balances and spending patterns; Zest Finance is offering credit scoring technology based on AI algorithms using alternative credit data; Adyen is also using machine learning for fraud prevention; overall machine learning solutions are evolving rapidly and speculators believe they will revolutionize the workforce; Goldman Sachs says machine learning and AI will enable $34 billion to $43 billion in annual cost savings and new revenue opportunities for the financial sector by 2025; it's also expected that AI and machine learning will begin to replace jobs that can be easily automated while also creating greater opportunities for software developers and data scientists. Source
Investment funding deals for fintech businesses were lower in 2016, according to data from CB Insights; the firm reports that the number of deals remained steady with a 1% decrease to 836 however the total amount funded decreased by 13% to $12.7 billion in 2016; global instability and industry challenges in P2P lending were among the factors contributing to the lower investment. Source
OpenFin has raised $15 million for its capital markets software business from Bain Capital Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, JPMorgan, Euclid Opportunities, Nyca Partners, Pivot Investment Partners and an undisclosed list of angel investors and financial industry executives; the OpenFin software can easily automate upgrades and has a unified interface for desktop applications; it is utilized by sell-side and buy-side analysts for a range of applications. Source
Deloitte has identified the need for developing auditing standards for blockchain as the technology becomes increasingly tested and utilized across all industries; the firm has checked blockchain protocols and applications against professional auditing standards in a project that audited an internally developed loyalty points blockchain application on a permissioned Ethereum network; the firm is currently seeking to be a market leader in defining how an auditor can provide audited assurance of blockchain applications. Source
Online mortgage lending has helped to revive the market for mortgage loan securitizations; new online mortgage lenders are providing a new wave of mortgage loan securitizations for the market specifically with fix and flips; these loans are attractive to investors because of the high yields and offer investors shorter duration investments because of the fix and flip focus; despite defaults and structuring inefficiencies created from the 2008 financial crisis, institutional investors are placing confidence in these investments; LendingHome has been leading the market with steady issuance of fix and flip loan securitizations and the products have been performing successfully for investors indicating the niche investments could begin to scale more broadly. Source
Representatives Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) have announced the creation of a Congressional Blockchain Caucus; in comments regarding the Caucus, Jared Polis said, "Lawmakers need to understand that as the world rapidly changes, it's our responsibility to ensure that we craft policies and adapt laws that match our ingenuity."; the Caucus has already gained considerable support and will seek to educate, engage and provide research on blockchain innovation and issues that could require regulatory guidelines and laws. Source
OnDeck released its fourth quarter and full year earnings before the market's open on Thursday; the firm reported a net loss of $67.0 million for 2016 compared to a net profit of $10.3 million in 2015; originations were $2.4 billion in 2016 compared to $1.9 billion in 2015; revenue for the year increased to $264.8 million from $195.1 million; loan loss provisions were a factor contributing to the net loss with provisions increasing to $149.96 million in 2016 from $74.86 million in 2015. Sources
Wells Fargo has been active in biometrics; in 2014 it launched a startup accelerator led by EyeVerify which it now uses for eyeprint verification with its commercial banking customers; it is also working with Kasisto in its startup accelerator and plans to launch some virtual assistant offerings for employees and customers; it has also now announced a refocused effort in its Innovation Group that will be dedicated to AI, payments and application platform interfaces; Wells Fargo's management is committed to biometrics and the firm wants to be a leader in the technology with a specific focus currently on voice recognition. Source