Scott Sanborn talks with Bloomberg about LendingClub's recovery and Q217 results; says the firm has focused on internal controls and investors; highlights that 44% of loan funding in Q2 came from banks; also discusses competition with credit cards and the consumer credit market. Source
Scott Sanborn gave a recap of his LendIt USA 2017 keynote presentation and reiterated his excitement and positive outlook for the marketplace lending industry in a blog post; Sanborn identified three key areas of importance: evolving the customer experience, unleashing the platform potential and amplifying core innovations; with a focus on these three things Lending Club plans to see more borrowers and investors as well as a number of new and innovative partnerships fueling its future business growth. Source
A development agency for the Scottish government, Scottish Enterprise, and its investment arm, the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB), have agreed to fund loans on the LendingCrowd platform; they will invest up to £2.75 million in Scottish small-to-midsized businesses, acting in parallel to the retail investors on the platform; the Scottish government earlier identified SMEs needing financing up to £150,000 as an economic development priority. Source
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested that Lending Club provide increased disclosure on its loan portfolio and sources of funds also suggesting they improve non-GAAP reporting which is potentially misleading for investors; Lending Club has agreed to provide more disclosure and evolved its SEC filings accordingly however it has defended its non-GAAP accounting procedures, reporting it did not see the measures as misleading; recent requests for added disclosure as a publicly traded company are included in the SEC's last correspondence on November 4; the items remain open and the SEC's most recent correspondence is in addition to its review of the company following the replacement of its CEO in May. Source
The creation of a secondary market for marketplace lending loans has been a hot topic recently; if a robust secondary market existed many believe more pension plans, registered mutual funds and other institutional investors would participate because loans would have a price and there would be liquidity for investors; currently marketplace lending loans trade on an over the counter market where many of the panelists currently participate; the panel explores whether whole loans are securities, why that matters and dives deep into the key aspects of a secondary market: price discovery, connecting buyers and sellers and fulfillment. Source
According to a report by Bloomberg, four bonds comprised of online consumer lending loans have reached or are approaching trigger levels; the four bonds include three securitizations by Avant and one by CircleBack Lending; according to one source, two of Avant's securities breached triggers this month for the first time; the four offerings total over $500 million in size. 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
Since launching in 2015, Sharestates, a real estate crowdfunding company, has crossed $275 million in originations across 323 loans; in December 2016 the company originated $42 million, nearly doubling total loan volume in just over three months; average net yield to investors has been 11%; Sharestates recently announced they were raising their Series A through SeedInvest; the company is currently profitable and was previously a finalist for PitchIt@LendIt. 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
The Sift app was designed to increase transparency in credit card spending and provide credit card users with detailed information on fees and alternatives; the app has the capability to analyze 90% of all issued credit cards in the US for hidden benefits, price adjustment refunds, extended warranties, return protection and more; the firm has announced a $1.5 million fundraising round with the launch of the app and has plans to increase its users and expand the app's offerings. Source