P2P-banking.com has reported international P2P lending originations for February; Funding Circle led originations with 121.4 million euros ($127.67 million) in loans originated; Funding Circle also surpassed 2 billion British pounds ($2.46 billion) in cumulative loan originations during the month; Zopa and RateSetter followed Funding Circle with Zopa reporting 89.8 million euros and RateSetter reporting originations of 72.3 million euros; the list does not include P2P lenders in the US. Source
According to Bloomberg, defaults have triggered a breach in a 2015 SoFi bond deal; Bloomberg provides some details on the breach, reporting that the SoFi loans backing the bonds averaged more than $35,000, were unsecured and were from prime credit borrowers with annual salaries averaging around $130,000; the SoFi breach adds to worries about rising defaults overall which have been a factor for bond deals and troubled lenders in the marketplace lending industry. Source
Lantern Credit has acquired the Abstract Regression Classification (ARC) Machine Learning Library to enhance its proprietary machine learning solution, Beam AI; the firm expects the acquisition and machine learning enhancements to improve its credit advice, credit offers and support for financial institutions; according to Chad Swensen, CEO of Lantern Credit, "Leveraging the ARC software to advance the Beam AI technology produces the most advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning application in the consumer credit management space." Source
After opening a search for a digital lending solution, the American Bankers Association has chosen Akouba; Lend Academy provides details in their article; Akouba offers banks a digital lending software solution for executing small business loans; it primarily works with community and regional banks; the ABA endorsement is a huge win for Akouba and will substantially add to its sales pipeline; the firm has 11 employees and has mainly been working with community banks reporting $500 million to $25 billion in assets; in addition to facilitating new business for Akouba, the ABA endorsement is also designed to help educate the market on advanced solutions for small business online lending; the ABA will be releasing a report on Akouba and the company will be holding a webinar on March 8 to discuss digitizing the small business lending process. Source
Indian digital lender Capital Float is reportedly beginning a fundraising deal that would result in Rs 300 crore ($47 million) of new capital; the round is being led by Ribbit Capital and the firm is expecting a valuation of approximately Rs 1,300 crore ($203 million) following the deal; Capital Float plans to expand its lending portfolio to consumer lending and will also seek to finance kirana stores. Source
In an article from The Financial Brand they highlight the opportunity for banks and credit unions as millennials reach adulthood, warning that failing to crack the "millennial code" of what makes millennials unique may be fatal to lending opportunities; there are many promising statistics including an estimated 86 million potential millennial customers; according to the US Census Bureau, by 2028 millennials will become the majority of peak and legacy profit groups. Source
Inc. has released their list of the 5000 fastest growing private companies; this year over 250 companies made it in the financial services category; the list shares basic information about each company including revenue numbers; several online lenders made the list including Avant, OppLoans, Kabbage, loanDepot, Lighter Capital, FastPay, National Funding and ZestFinance. Source
Kroll Bond Rating Agency has assigned preliminary ratings to a LendingClub securitization portfolio; the loan securitization, LendingClub Issuance Trust, Series 2016-NP2 (LCIT 2016-NP2), is valued at $101.75 million and includes two classes of notes with LendingClub consumer loans; the class A tranche which accounts for 84% of the deal at $85.3 million, is rated BBB; the class B tranche accounts for 16% at $16.4 million and is rated BB+. Source
After receiving FCA authorization earlier this month, ThinCats provides some insight on plans for its IFISA; Stewart Cazier, head of retail for ThinCats, says the company is planning for a 2017 release of its IFISA; Cazier also says the firm is planning a staggered rollout with registered investors receiving first priority. Source
Ron Suber discussed the challenges that online fraud can present to marketplace lenders in his keynote speech at the Fintech Fraud Summit last week in San Francisco; to mitigate fraud, companies must have a comprehensive risk and compliance system that protects it from attacks and fraudulent loans; Ron Suber outlined Prosper's risk and compliance approach in his presentation providing an example for marketplace lenders seeking solutions for mitigating and managing fraud. Source