Online multi-lender, LendingTree, has acquired CompareCards, owned by Iron Horse Holdings; the acquisition will expand LendingTree's online credit card comparison offering also bringing new technology, issuer relationships and educational tools to the site; LendingTree's stock has gained 13.44% following the company's announcement. Source
AutoFi has announced a new partnership to expand its online point-of-sale auto financing solution; AutoFi has now partnered with iLendingDIRECT which includes a network of credit unions; the new partnership builds on a recently announced offering with Ford Credit and also adds to the platform's extensive auto lending network of banks and specialty lenders. Source
MoolahSense, a marketplace lender focused on small business loans, has received a full Capital Markets Services (CMS) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); the MAS license allows the business to offer its loan investments in the country to a broad range of investors including retail investors, high net worth individuals and private funds. Source
Nuoyuan Technology is optimistic about financial innovation in China and globally; the firm is growing its business in China and through its subordinate business, Nuoyuan Online Platform, offers a service that connects borrowers with lenders; Nuoyuan Online has now helped to finance over 5 billion RMB and has over 600,000 users; in their featured blog post they discuss the global market for fintech innovation and their expectations for the future. Sponsored Blog Post
LendIt USA 2017 featured keynote speakers discussing all aspects of the online lending industry and new developments in fintech overall; videos on the keynote presentations from the event are now available; a list of the event’s keynote speakers can also be found here. Source
Funding Circle has revised its credit underwriting model for its secured property loans offered to SMEs; the new credit underwriting model has been adjusted based on three years of secured property loan data from the platform; the new secured property loan underwriting model will increase rates for certain secured property loans and also expand the firm's secured property loan risk bands beyond A+ and A. Source
PeerStreet has partnered with Betterment to provide increased access to its platform data for investors through the Betterment service; with the new partnership investors can now view their PeerStreet positions on the Betterment dashboard; the partnership is facilitated by data integration from Quovo. Source
SoFi has received preliminary ratings from Kroll Bond Rating Agency for a securitization portfolio including prime jumbo residential mortgage loans; the securitization includes 36 classes with 270 mortgage loans; 31 classes are rated AAA; the remaining classes are rated AA to B with one unrated class accounting for $1 million of the portfolio; the portfolio includes high quality mortgage loans with a comprehensive weighted average credit score of 777; the total principal balance of the portfolio is $168,790,946. Source
A wide range of loan options for small business funding are available; Lend Academy provides an overview of the market's credit products for small businesses in their article; loans from the Small Business Administration and large lenders have traditionally been the main focus for many borrowers however online marketplace lenders and innovative credit products such as invoice financing have greatly evolved the options for credit funding in the market. Source
In a recent interview, SoFi CEO Mike Cagney stated, "We feel very confident that in 2017 you'll be able to have a SoFi bank account with a debit and/or credit card."; further details are not known on how SoFi plans to offer deposit accounts; Cagney stated the company is working on two or three initiatives; back in July Cagney told investors that getting a traditional bank license was not a viable solution; the company may be able to leverage the OCC's recently announced nonbank fintech charter. Source