Source reports on increased passive investment in UK P2P lending; notes Funding Circle's removal of manual loan investing and a greater number of platforms offering "black box" investing; IFISAs are supporting this trend as well as UK platforms offering the accounts with diversified loan investments. Source
CreditEase was China's first P2P lender, founded in 2006; since its founding the firm has been expanding its services to wealth management and robo advice; Ning Tang, CreditEase founder and CEO, provides his insight on the business and the online lending industry in an interview; highlights how the company plans to expand its business lines through partnerships while also managing regulatory controls. Source
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
Fintech is improving the financial services industry and providing new borrowing opportunities across the country; the current framework makes innovation challenging with differing requirements for online lenders in each of the 50 states; Nat Hoopes, the Marketplace Lending Association's director, writes in favor of the OCC fintech charter and the benefits it would provide for online lending, fintech and the industry overall. Source
Dianrong has obtained $220 million from a Series D funding round; this latest funding was led by GIC Private Limited (Singapore's sovereign wealth fund), CMIG Leasing, and Simone Investment Managers, among others. Source
Chinese regulators raided over 40 companies in China to investigate for illegal activities pertaining to the country's newly disseminated laws; investigators found property agents listing homes that owners had not agreed to sell and providing false information about properties; with a focus on real estate property investing, the investigators also found P2P lenders offering down payment loans after they were recently restricted by regulators. Source
The Financial Conduct Authority has issued an update on its rules for the crowdfunding market; the update is based on feedback received since July and its authorization process; seems there will be a number of modifications; some of the key areas for new regulation in P2P lending include disclosure, wind-down plans, mortgage lending standards, cross-platform investment, investment limits, operational risk complexity, marketing promotions, provision funds, money handling standards, regulatory arbitrage, maturity mismatching, investment for institutional investors and liquidity risk for IFISA investors. Source
Prospect Marketplace Lending Corp. has filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a fund investing in marketplace loans; the firm has filed an N-8A and an N-2 indicating its investment company status and plans for managing a closed-end fund; the closed-end fund will invest 80% of its assets in marketplace lending investments. Source
"The Hourglass Effect" is a white paper written by Frank Rotman from QED Investors in 2015; it provides a historic look at the evolution of the marketplace lending industry and how its growth has coincided with the slowdown in traditional bank lending following the 2008 financial crisis; it outlines ten years of industry growth and includes in-depth details on the economy, marketplace lending and banks; Frank Rotman also presented the white paper in a recorded presentation at LendIt USA 2015. Source
OnDeck Capital's chief operating officer, James Hobson will be leaving OnDeck; according to Reuters, Hobson will be taking a new role as chief executive at online insurance company Attune; Hobson will remain in the role until March 15. Source