Late last Friday the SBA and Treasury issued more guidance for the...
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.
Then every Saturday we bring you our weekly news roundup of the top 10 fintech stories of the week with commentary from Peter Renton.
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The trend of partnering with banks is an increasing one for online lenders, there are many different forms of partnerships for many different reasons and the panel at LendIt USA 2016 gives a good overview of why these partnerships keep happening. Online lenders have structured their partnerships in so many different ways including: white labeling their technology to the bank, setting up an origination engine and loan servicing, using the partnership to improve efficiency for the customer and using banks to buy up loans with their excess capital. Panelists break down how their partnerships with banks came about and how long the process took for the partnership to complete. In most cases the banks and online lenders were in discussions for almost a year. The complexities to these partnerships were brought to light during the panel. It gives a good understanding of how detailed and thorough each party needs to be to ensure compliance and regulatory needs are met. Additionally the panel discussed how online lenders have matured over the last few years and are now in a better position to choose a bank partner. Online lenders are no longer viewed through a certain lens. They are viewed as collaborators and competitors who serve a customer that is very similar to the banks but serve them in a more efficient manner. 2017 looks to be the year of the bank partnership as there is now a track record of partnerships to rely upon for banks and online lenders alike. Check out the full video interview here:
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has reported successful use of blockchain in inter-bank payments; the MAS blockchain inter-bank payments project began in November 2016 and was tested in partnership with R3 and a consortium of financial institutions; Deloitte will provide a report on all aspects of the project and its successes; MAS has reported a continuation of blockchain testing, next in fixed income securities trading and settlement at the Singapore Exchange and also in cross border payments using central bank digital currency; the country's active role in blockchain technology testing is also likely to influence the UNCITRAL Working Group IV which meets in April and is leading initiatives around a legal framework for cross border transactions which is likely to be based on blockchain technology. Source
BondMason has increased its minimum investment for new investors from GBP1,000 ($1,278) to GBP5,000 ($6,392) and will institute the change for existing clients beginning on July 31; a new tiered fee structure will also be introduced beginning on May 31 for all investors; according to BondMason's CEO Stephen Findlay, "This structure puts us in line with other investment services and is to reflect our commitment to client services, which was sadly proving uneconomic for clients with smaller balances."; BondMason's service allows UK investors to invest in multiple marketplace loans through a single account. Source
Last week Prosper added some new advanced search criteria that could help...
Online franchise business lender ApplePie Capital has announced the acquisition of Funding Solutions, LLC and the appointment of Ronald Feldman as chief development officer; Funding Solutions is a six-person franchise loan consulting firm based in Michigan and will help business and product development for the firm; supporting ApplePie Capital's brand portfolio and product strategy, Ronald Feldman will also bring significant franchise market experience from roles at FranData, Franchise America Finance and The Siegel Financial Group. Source
Luxury assets lender Borro has raised 5.6 million British pounds ($6.93 million) in new equity capital; firm received Financial Conduct Authority authorization in 2016 and reported business growth of 30%; the funding will help support the firm's balance sheet lending; since 2011, firm has lent 230 million British pounds ($286 million). Source
Banks have long relied on face to face or voice interactions with...
While fintech companies have focused on speeding up the lending process to small businesses, the IRS's continued use of fax machines continues to slow down the lending process when borrowing from traditional institutions; in an article from American Banker, the cumbersome process of getting a tax transcript from the IRS is outlined; when customers need capital on short notice they are often left with higher financing costs; Representative Patrick McHenry recently introduced the IRS Data Verification Modernization Act that aims to provide near-real-time communication of information which may level the playing field across lenders. Source
Business Insider reports on the UK Treasury's first International Fintech event; the UK's Chancellor Hammond is scheduled to speak about growing and strengthening fintech amid the challenges presented by Brexit; the CEOs of Funding Circle and TransferWise will also be speaking at the event. Source