Kreditech Russia has received Microfinance Company status from the Central Bank of Russia; the approval follows new regulation in Russia that requires the status for increased transparency in the microfinance alternative lending market; Kreditech Russia was established in 2013 and is part of Kreditech Group which was founded in 2012 and has its headquarters in Germany; in 2016, Kreditech Group reported loan origination volume of EUR 125 million ($133.58 million). Source
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has fined TransUnion and Equifax over $23.2 million for deceptively advertising services; the agencies reportedly advertised credit services costing customers over $200 as free and misled customers about the use of credit reports they obtained; according to the CFPB, TransUnion will pay $13.93 million to consumers and a $3 million fine while Equifax will pay $3.8 million to consumers and a $2.5 million fine. Source
Wangdaizhijia has released two market reports providing insight and projections on P2P lending and crowdfunding in China; report finds 2,235 P2P platforms with total loans of $385 billion, including $181 billion in loans originated in January through August of 2016; predicting originations of $300 billion for online lending in 2016; nonlending crowdfunding market is smaller with 380 platforms as of August and crowdfunded investments of $1.57 billion for January to August of 2016. Source
The P2PFA has added Folk2Folk expanding its membership to nine; Folk2Folk is the only P2P lender in the UK to offer regional branch offices for customers to meet with representatives; the lending platform was authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority in December 2016; it is a secured property small business lender and has lent a total of approximately £134 million ($167.28 million) to small businesses. Source
Point of sale business credit provider Behalf has partnered with community bank FinWise Bank; FinWise Bank will support expanded credit financing and product offerings for Behalf; according to Behalf CEO and Co-Founder Benjy Feinberg, "Partnering with FinWise allows us to expand our product offering and serve more customers with financial tools that help them grow." Source
In an interview on November 7, CEO Gregory Gibb of Lufax, China's largest P2P lender and wealth management platform, said he could envision an IPO to support worldwide expansion; he did not provide further details; reporting elsewhere claims that four banks have been selected to sponsor an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange; when Lufax raised US$1.2 billion in January, the company was valued at $18 billion; while the market as a whole is expected to grow between 30% and 40% in 2016, Gibb noted that increasing regulation of the industry in China should give added momentum to leaders like Lufax, which Gibb expects to grow "north of 50%" in the next year. Source
Banks have previously been known for their slow service in providing small business loans however the success of small business online lenders is helping to increase their interest and banking models; with banks expected to begin broadening personal and business lending in the current environment, small businesses appear to provide the best market opportunity; American Banker details some specific areas where banks can upgrade their technology for better competitive positioning in the small business lending market including: online applications, electronic documentation, increased online disclosure and optimized lending processes based on targeted borrowers. Source
Jilliene Helman won the LendIt Fintech Woman of the Year award at LendIt's first industry awards show and has led RealtyMogul since 2013 as the firm's founder; offering debt and equity real estate investments as well as a REIT, RealtyMogul is one of the most innovative real estate investing platforms that has evolved from the JOBS Act's new regulations for crowdfunded investments; Helman talks with Forbes about the firm's REIT investment, the experience of its management team, and how economies of scale and the firm's technology are helping the firm succeed. Source
India-based platform, KredX, who focuses on providing short-term working capital to blue-chip companies, has raised a Series A round; Sequoia Capital has joined existing investor Prime Venture Partners in the round; company was founded in 2015 and has facilitated 3,000 transactions ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore (approximately $1,600 to $214,000); company views invoice discounting market opportunity at $100 billion. Source
This week's PeerIQ industry update focused on the OCC's special purpose bank charter and a trio of new securitization deals; the OCC charter is beginning to face some pushback from lawmakers who feel the OCC may be moving along too quickly; Marlette is looking to close their MFT 2017-1 securitization on March 23rd, the deal was $257.44 million but has upsized to $304.47 million; SoFi has a new offering, SoFi 2017-B, led by Bank of America and Deutsche Bank for $461 million; Avant is also heading to market with a $300 million securitization being led by Credit Suisse. Source