Orca Money has raised 280,000 British pounds ($354,425) in a funding round led by TechStart NI; the UK company provides a comparison service for investors interested in P2P investments; the funding will primarily be used for development of Orca Retail, a financial media site which it plans to open in 2017. Source
Several investment funds are reporting lower returns for 2016 including Lending Club's LC Advisors and Colchis Capital Management; both reported their lowest returns since launching in 2011; Lending Club's LC Advisors returned 1.83% in 2016, down from 5.76% in 2015 and 8.02% in 2014 reports the Wall Street Journal; Colchis's P2P Income Funds returned 6.2% in 2016; in the previous four years Colchis returned 9% to investors; higher defaults across higher risk loans have affected the performance; other publicly traded funds invested in marketplace lending have also struggled. Source
Stuart Law from Assetz Capital discusses different platform approaches to security, risk assessment and lending in an article for FT Adviser; provides details on the pre-approval and post-approval process for loans, noting the importance of these processes for investors given that P2P platforms provide alternative investments with potentially higher risks; also discusses the advantages that a provision fund can offer for investor security. Source
Investors in the UK are anxious for new innovative finance individual savings account (IFISA) options with P2P lenders as the new tax year begins; the IFISAs were launched for P2P investing nine months ago however limited options still remain due to the authorizations given by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); it is expected that the largest providers, Zopa, Funding Circle, Ratesetter and LendInvest, will receive authorization however it has not been granted yet from the FCA; platforms currently offering IFISAs include Abundance, CrowdStacker and Crowd2Fund; Folk2Folk is currently the largest lender authorized with plans for also launching an IFISA. Source
Invoice financing platform IFG has partnered with Apex Analytix to provide Apex's business customers with access to IFG's invoice financing through the Apex Analytix FirstStrike Supplier Portal; Apex works with Global 1000 clients in over 100 countries on six continents; according to Steve Yurko, CEO of Apex Analytix, the partnership will help Apex's customers optimize cash flow and working capital objectives. Source
Australian lending platform Timelio has received investment from new investor, Anthony Thomson; Anthony Thomson is founder of Atom Bank and Metro Bank; the Timelio platform has funded over $100 million in invoices since launching approximately two years ago. Source
Italian invoice trading platform Workinvoice has packaged 5 million euros ($5.31 million) worth of receivables financed through its platform in a securitization vehicle; the receivables portfolio was purchased by Italian portfolio manager Factor@Work; the securitization deal represents a new source of capital interest for the invoice receivables market. Source
In May 2015 SoFi's CEO, Mike Cagney, said the company planned to go public within the next 12 months; current plans have changed and the CEO now says it has no plans for an IPO anytime soon; the market for online lending IPOs has been volatile in recent months; SoFi has also been significantly focused on expanding its products beyond just student loans to meet broader needs for its customers; the CEO says its business and expanding business lines subject it to quarterly fluctuations in reporting metrics which could be detrimental under public investor scrutiny; given the firm's positioning it could be one of the industry's leading beneficiaries of the OCC's new fintech charter which will allow for national standards; as of last year SoFi had a valuation of approximately $4 billion and currently it's involved in a $500 million funding round to increase loan purchases and potentially equity. Source
IRA Financial Group, a New York provider of retirement plan solutions, is offering a self-directed IRA for P2P loan investors; the firm has designed the IRA for P2P lending; loan investments in the self-directed IRA would be tax deferred. Source
The "Facebook Initiative" has helped increase lending at Irish credit unions and now 15% to 20% of loan inquiries come through the social networking site; the program initially started out as a pilot project and has moved into a key source of new leads; half of consumers that used this program never borrowed from a credit union before; the process involves a 30 second inquiry online, then lending officers call the borrowers to ensure they understand what they are borrowing; this is part of a broader move by the Credit Union Development Association (CUDA) in Ireland to spur innovation in finance. Source