Inc. has released their list of the 5000 fastest growing private companies; this year over 250 companies made it in the financial services category; the list shares basic information about each company including revenue numbers; several online lenders made the list including Avant, OppLoans, Kabbage, loanDepot, Lighter Capital, FastPay, National Funding and ZestFinance. 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.
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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As a thirty year veteran of consumer lending, loanDepot CEO Anthony Hsieh has seen his share of transformative changes; his keynote at LendIt USA 2017 focused on the modern version of consumer lending and how online lenders are only just scratching the surface; while originations have grown each year loanDepot still only accounts for about two percent market share as the second largest non bank consumer lender; he believes online lending is still in the bottom of the first or top of the second inning; non bank mortgage lenders now account for five of the top ten originators, a few years ago only two non bank lenders cracked the top ten; regulations, capital markets and technology have all contributed to the market changing since the crisis of 2008; he also talks about the future of the customer experience and their continued investment in technology. Source
AutoFi has raised $10 million from a Series A fundraising and has plans to expand its auto lending technology services; the platform currently allows auto dealers to sell cars online, connecting buyers with lenders; it will add vehicle leasing options for customers; it is also expanding its services to Canada through a new partnership with Tricor Automotive Group. Source
Global fraud prevention and identity verification startup Emailage raised $10 million in growth funding; the round included Anthos Capital, with participation from Radian Capital, Wipro Ventures, Mucker Capital and Tallwave Capital; they are looking to increase existing partnerships and accelerate growth in North America, Europe and Latin America markets; the company provides real-time risk intelligence by leveraging the email address as a unique global identifier. Source
Fluid received the LangDi PitchIt Fintech Choice Award; competing as one of eight finalists in the LangDi PitchIt competition, the company was recognized for its development of an innovative credit product for college students; Fluid provides college students with interest free loans of up to $500 and is supported by adtech revenue. Source
Clarity Services reports on details of its new Clear Bank Debit™ product in a blog post; product allows underwriters to confirm a consumer's banking status and utilize banking account transaction details for alternative credit underwriting; according to Clarity Services, the view provided by Clear Bank Debit™ can help lenders better understand risk. Source
Zopa will reduce its high risk loan exposure following reports on the UK market's consumer credit outlook; data shows consumer defaults and insolvency levels are increasing; the firm says it will seek to target more low risk borrowers; the changes will allow it to offer higher returns in some of its leading products; the company plans to publish a monthly blog post with its perspective on the consumer credit market. Source
Innovate Finance's CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer has left the association to pursue other opportunities; Wintermeyer served as CEO for two and a half years and helped the association increase its membership to 250 members; Charlotte Crosswell, former CEO of Nasdaq NLX, has been appointed as the association's interim CEO while it searches for a successor. Source
After receiving FCA authorization earlier this month, ThinCats provides some insight on plans for its IFISA; Stewart Cazier, head of retail for ThinCats, says the company is planning for a 2017 release of its IFISA; Cazier also says the firm is planning a staggered rollout with registered investors receiving first priority. Source
Bitkan, a China-based bitcoin-focused data and trading services provider, has released the trailer of the first Chinese bitcoin documentary, "Shape the Future"; the documentary will provide a panoramic view of the development of the bitcoin and blockchain ecosystem in China, the country with the number one hashrate in the bitcoin realm. Source