Chinese fintech startup Yongqianbao has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) solution that automates credit underwriting through data-mining algorithms and AI; the fintech company will offer the service to the under-served sector; the company is currently training an AI model with over 1,000 factors for credit underwriting assessments; the firm is planning for a Series C investment round and will offer 24/7 automated credit when the platform's model is fully developed. Source
Zane Wang concluded the LendIt USA keynote speeches with a presentation on China Rapid Finance's business growth in China; the firm's online lending business has grown steadily as a leading provider of online loans for consumers; Wang discussed China's credit market infrastructure and credit bureau development; Wang also noted the market opportunity from emerging middle-class mobile active consumers (EMMAs) which are a primary target market for China Rapid Finance; also of high importance in China is the use of big data; Wang reported that China Rapid Finance has been able to achieve its success by using predictive selection technology solutions derived from machine learning and big data algorithms. Source
Zest Finance has developed a new credit scoring platform called ZAML that provides a technology solution for alternative credit underwriting; similar to other emerging alternative credit models, the technology uses machine learning software to analyze alternative credit reporting information and arrive at a lending decision; the firm has worked with Baidu to test its credit underwriting, which helped the firm approve 150% more borrowers with no increased losses. Source
The marketplace lending industry's first peer-to-peer lender has created a waiting list for new investors and is currently only accepting funds from existing investors; the investor waiting list began on March 9 and follows the previous halting of new money from all investors on its platform in December; the waiting list is another effort to keep processing times down; demand for loans on the platform was higher in February as more investors identified the loan investments for their high yields among other regional alternatives; Zopa has reported plans for expansion to secured car loans and is also continuing with its plans for launching a digital bank. Source
The UK's oldest and biggest online lender will be cutting rates by 0.2% across all accounts for the third time in the last five months; Chief Product Officer Andrew Lawson told investors via email that since competitors have been cutting rates they also needed to continue their rate cuts and they could also see this trend continuing; left with a choice of cutting rates or lending to a risky borrower, Zopa opted to cut rates and keep their lending practices static. Source
Zopa, who specializes in unsecured consumer loans may be looking to expand into secured loans, specifically the auto segment; the company sees a healthy level of demand but a generally poor consumer experience; Zopa's Chief Marketing Officer Amy Miller stated, "People are getting poor deals in that area and end up paying significantly higher annual percentage rates than they would if they arranged their financing before going into a dealership."; the company is also reportedly considering other loan terms, such as 18 month loans as well as a balloon payment loan. Source
Zopa, the industry's first P2P lender, has reached a new milestone, originating over 2 billion British pounds ($2.5 billion) in loans since 2005; according to Zopa the firm has originated 300,000 loans from 246,000 borrowers and has 75,000 investors; in the UK, Funding Circle is also close to reaching the 2 billion British pound mark with cumulative loan originations of 1.92 billion British pounds ($2.40 billion) since its launch in 2010. Source
Zopa provides 2016 year end stats; in total they lent 680 million British pounds ($830 million); helped 20,000 people improve their home and 29,000 buy a car; the company also highlights several awards they won including Most Trusted Loan Provider by Moneywise for the seventh year in a row; the company struck many partnerships including offering phone finance with Unshackled, loans through personal finance app Pariti and a partnership with Airbnb; company also launched three new lending products for investors with varying risk and return profiles; in 2016 we also saw the first securitization of Zopa loans and learned of Zopa's plans to apply for a banking license. 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
After a break in new investor inflows, Zopa has reopened to investors; the firm closed its platform to new investments at the beginning of December; cited an imbalance in borrower versus investor demand; firm is now accepting new investments with a 4.2 million British pound ($5.24 million) platform capacity. Source