Errol Damelin has been steadily growing his presence in London's fintech sector; founder of Wonga, Damelin's expertise and mentorship has helped over 200 employees currently working in London's fintech scene; his company Wonga is a case study for online payday lending in Europe and despite his exit from the company in 2014, Damelin has gone on to successfully invest and mentor a wide range of startup businesses in London. Source
Plum uses artificial intelligence to suggest and automate savings for its customers; the RateSetter Plum partnership will add a new savings option for Plum customers; through the platform customers can now choose to automate investment to a RateSetter account with an average return of approximately 4.7%. Source
LendIt will be hosting a webinar today at 2:00 PM EST; the Lendit Forum will feature Aaron Peck from Monroe Capital and Tim Ranney from Clarity Services; the speakers will discuss the profile of non-prime borrowers and where the best investments are in the non-prime space; other topics will include how alternative data can be used to better assess the borrower's risk, interest rates for non-prime borrowers and the types of return investors can get when making this investment; register here and join the webinar today. Source
The company has now increased its total capital raised to $300 million; Unison helps make homeownership affordable by providing capital in the form of equity in the home that tracks with the value of a home and is payable upon its sale; firm has added Ron Suber from Prosper Marketplace as an investor and strategic advisor; also announced several new leadership appointments and promotions. Source
Bitbond has raised $1.2 million in new equity capital to grow its user base and further its product development; the firm offers loans globally to small and medium-sized enterprises and uses the bitcoin blockchain for global cross-border lending; since its launch the platform has originated over 1,600 loans worth approximately $1.2 million; it currently has 76,000 registered users in 120 countries. Source
AutoGravity has added Westlake Financial Services to its network of financing companies; AutoGravity launched its app in 46 states in January; the platform allows consumers to shop for a car online, apply for financing and receive up to four auto financing offers. Source
Silver Lake Partners is leading the next financing round for SoFi that is expected to add $500 million in new capital for the growing alternative finance company; investors include Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. and several other Asian investors along with DCM Ventures and Third Point; with the completion of the fundraising, SoFi will be valued at approximately $4.3 billion; recent acquisitions and product introductions have helped the firm expand its offerings from student loan refinancings to personal loans, mortgages, wealth management, life insurance and digital banking. Source
A report from the Beijing Bureau of Financial Work says 90% of P2P platforms will struggle to stay in business in 2017; if their predictions are correct that would reduce the total number of P2P companies from 4,856 to approximately 500; companies will begin to undergo a review by regulators and it is expected that a run on deposits is likely to occur; regulators will be checking for a number of variables including two new requirements: the appointment of a custodian bank and full disclosure of the use of deposits; other factors under review will include risk management, business scale, IT infrastructure, investment sources and shareholders' credibility; firms will either be granted a P2P lending license or be required to liquidate; in 2016 the industry accounted for 800 billion yuan and according to the Beijing Bureau of Financial Work it is likely that 2017 will end drastically different for the industry overall. Source
The Lendit Forum will feature Aaron Peck from Monroe Capital and Tim Ranney from Clarity Services; the speakers will discuss the profile of non-prime borrowers and where the best investments are in the non-prime space; other topics will include how alternative data can be used to better assess the borrower's risk, interest rates for non-prime borrowers and the types of return investors can get when making this investment. Source
A quarterly report from the New York Federal Reserve says household debt has reached its highest level since 2008 at $12.58 trillion; household debt increased $226 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016; home and auto loans represent the majority of the debt; despite the increase, bankruptcies and foreclosures for the fourth quarter reached an 18-year low indicating consumers are capable of managing the added debt. Source