Zhengyuan Lu, OnDeck's Senior Vice President of Capital Markets, will soon move to investment firm, Victory Park Capital; his last day is Tuesday; Victory Park invests in and provides credit facilities to online lenders, including Avant Inc. and Square Inc.; the last year has been a challenge for OnDeck as investors have not been buying loans at the same pace and this has forced the lender to hold more loans on its balance sheet. Source
In 2016 the student loan securitization market increased compared to 2015 and in 2017 the market has already been off to a good start; the panelists discuss the reasons for this trend of increased issuance including knowledge, confidence and a default rate of just 3 bps; in the case of the refinance product, supply has created the demand; panel also comments on the current regulatory landscape and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program which guarantees student loans; on the whole loan side, the panelists talk about the interest from investors, why they are deploying capital to the student loan market and the kind of returns they can expect; finally the panelists talk about risk retention and the importance of fintech in the origination of assets. Source
US online lender Affirm has announced its 1 millionth consumer installment loan; the platform works with Cross River Bank for loan originations and partners with retailers to offer its credit financing solution; the firm is managed by Pay Pal co-founder Max Levchin and has also announced it will be moving its San Francisco headquarters to 650 California Street with 86,225 square feet of office space for the growing company. Source
In an interview with Forbes, Lend Academy Founder and LendIt Co-Founder shares his thoughts on what he calls "a learning year" for the online lending industry; topics discussed are platform growth, investor pullback, compliance, competition and the recent SMART Box announcement by the Innovative Lending Platform Association; looking to the future Renton believes some firms will expand into other areas of fintech (like SoFi) while some companies will remain niche lenders; he also believes Blockchain will have a dramatic impact on peer-to-peer loans. Source
The US Senate's Banking Committee majority leader says a full reform of Dodd-Frank is unlikely but the Committee will seek to pass targeted reforms; the Banking Committee majority leader also sees larger regulatory changes coming mainly from the independent agencies; the outlook means the Financial Choice Act led by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling is also unlikely to be passed in the Senate; "The Choice Act is our omnibus legislation, but we will also reintroduce its component bills," says Hensarling; a previous executive order from President Trump which halts new federal regulations or requires regulators to repeal two rules for every new one issued is also slowing the regulatory process. Source
LendFoundry has developed a full operating system for marketplace lenders, banks and credit unions to provide online loans; Roger Vogel the firm's CEO talks about the operating system and how the business is evolving; also reports on the wide range of capabilities that the operating system offers including its APIs and services for compliance, loan originations and loan management. Source
P2P commercial real estate lender Relendex has received authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority; the platform provides secured commercial property loans through its P2P marketplace lending platform and now plans to seek the offering of innovative finance individual savings accounts for its investors; in comments regarding the authorization, Michael Lynn, the firm's founder and chief executive officer said, "FCA full authorization marks a fantastic start to 2017 for the Relendex team and platform which will further encourage and facilitate investment in commercial property from both our UK and foreign investors." Source
BlueVine raised $49 million in a Series D funding round from existing investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners; BlueVine has so far provided $200 million in working capital and says they are on track to lend out $500 million in 2017; BlueVine credits partnerships for a lot of their success, in particular the deal with QuickBooks who says the BlueVine offer is very popular among users. Source
Elevate's Center for the New Middle Class has released a study showing subprime consumers are limited in their ability to utilize credit balances or borrow from their social networks; the Center's study reports 70% of nonprime Americans couldn't cover an urgent expense of $500 or more with their savings and 64% wouldn't be able to borrow from friends and family; the Center's study amplifies the need for solutions targeting nonprime borrowers; Elevate's Center for the New Middle Class is currently undergoing research efforts to support nonprime credit access and personal financial management efficiencies. Source
Tempoe has completed a deal with its financing partner for a $150 million credit facility; the firm provides alternative leasing solutions for durable goods including furniture, appliances and electronics; the additional capital will help the firm to invest in the online shopping market, expand to additional retailers, explore new markets and make strategic acquisitions. Source