Credibly discusses the evolution of the fintech market and the firm's current market position in their featured blog post; central to their discussion is the integration of data science into all aspects of finance and the intersection of data science and bank partnerships; in what Credibly calls Generation 3.0 of fintech, online lenders are developing lending business models which also include software as a service (SaaS) products that are an extension of their proprietary technology; Credibly discusses the benefits of SaaS technology and the strengths banks present in partnering with fintech innovators; together the user experience is only expected to improve as more partnerships are formed throughout the industry. Sponsored Blog Post
Crowdfund Insider provides a roundup of news occurring in China's alternative finance market; the China Banking Regulatory Commission has released more details on its guidance for online lending partnerships with custody banks; also noteworthy is the potential initial public offering in the US by China Rapid Finance. Source
The Marketplace Lending Association has added eOriginal as its newest member; eOriginal was founded in 1996 and has been actively involved in the integration of electronic documentation throughout the financial services industry; it currently provides solutions for marketplace lenders and its expertise will significantly support the goals of the Marketplace Lending Association. Source
OnDeck is one of the market's leading small business online lenders and they have taken an active role in industry self-regulation specifically around improved transparency for business borrowers; in their featured blog post they discuss the market's landscape and their lending technology partnership integration efforts; they also provide details on their involvement in developing industry best practices through development of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity and the Innovation Lending Platform Association; this involvement has resulted in the creation of the SMART Box which they also detail in their blog post. Sponsored Blog Post
ApplePie Capital is the marketplace lending leader in franchise business loans; in their featured blog post, CEO Denise Thomas discusses the investment opportunity that the firm's platform presents and ApplePie Capital's business model; cites five reasons for investing in franchise debt including the stable, high single-digit to low double-digit returns with lower risk than many of the market's competing fixed income products. Sponsored Blog Post
Upstart Co-Founder Dave Girouard talks with Forbes about alternative credit data modeling and his firm Upstart; Girouard's inspiration for Upstart came from his experience at Google where he was involved in developing algorithmic models for evaluating candidates and their potential success as Google employees; a third of Upstart's management team comes from Google and the firm is now building advanced credit models that utilize machine learning and modern technology to make credit more accessible for borrowers; the firm is targeting loan originations of $1 billion in 2017; Upstart will be at LendIt USA 2017 and is announcing a new white label software as a service product called Powered by Upstart. Source
LendUp has secured a new $100 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital bringing its total financing to $325 million; the firm has also announced a new lending milestone, with loan originations surpassing $1 billion from more than 3.3 million loans; the firm was launched in 2012 and seeks to support the emerging middle class through lending and financial education. Source
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a decision in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC; in determining whether New York or Delaware law governed the contractual relationship of the parties, the judge ruled that applying Delaware law would violate usury policies in New York which limit interest to 25% per year. Source
VPC Specialty Lending has released its January monthly report which shows balance sheet investments increasing to 58% of the fund's net asset value; 19 of the firm's 24 platform investments are now balance sheet focused; balance sheet investments in January included Cognical and Kueski; balance sheet investments over the past twelve months have been successful with balance sheet loans returning 5.6% while marketplace loans returned -0.8%. Source
Small business online multi-lender Lendio has announced the launch of a new lending program for franchises; in addition to business loans, participating lenders will have access to new technology, comprehensive training, branded marketing tools, partnerships and Lendio's franchise support team; Lendio facilitates lending by matching online applicants with lenders; the firm has originated over $240 million in loans. Source