It was back in 2013 when I first met Albert Periu. He was a partner at a startup small business...
Despite initial concerns over risks from Brexit, the UK's Funding Circle has been growing significantly; Funding Circle is one of four firms Bloomberg plans to follow throughout the Brexit process which will begin when Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50 of the EU Treaty; for Funding Circle, results following the Brexit vote in June have been overwhelmingly positive; in the second half of 2016, originations increased 50% from 2015 to 530 million British pounds ($685 million) and in the fourth quarter of 2016 the firm's UK division reported its first net profit; while some funding challenges and employee visa risks still remain, the firm's business seems likely to continue its positive trajectory; low rates on fixed income investments in the UK and slowed bank lending to small businesses appear to continue as leading factors for the firm's growth. Source
Experienced credit market executive Kathryn Petralia talks with Crowdfund Insider about fintech and the business growth of Kabbage; the firm has originated approximately $3 billion in loans to 100,000 US small businesses since 2011; it has developed lending partnerships with global banks Santander and Scotiabank; it has also been active in promoting small business lending through its development of the SMART Box in collaboration with the Innovative Lending Platform Association; other highlights from the interview include insight on fintech predictions and regulations, Kabbage's involvement with the Consumer Financial Data Rights group, initiatives within the Innovative Lending Platform Association and Petralia's career advice. Source
Harvard Business School has released a comprehensive report on the state of small business lending and its current landscape; Lend Academy provides more details in their article with insight from author, Brayden McCarthy of Fundera; paper includes details on the evolution of online lending within the small business lending market; goals of the paper include laying a foundation for regulatory reform and exploring how online small business lenders can partner with banks. Source
Leading UK fintech OakNorth has announced today that PNC Bank is using its newly developed credit framework built in response...
StreetShares has announced a $10.3 million fundraising; the US marketplace lender specializes in funding business loans to companies managed by veterans; the platform has a range of product offerings with loans issued for $2,000 to $100,000. Source
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index decreased to 104.7 from 105.3 in March and fell below expectations of 104.8; small businesses were less optimistic about business growth as momentum from the Trump administration slowed; lower sales expectations and uncertainty were key factors for the March Small Business Optimism Index report which collected its data prior to the delayed Obamacare vote which many small business owners were watching closely. Source
The small business lending approval rate from banks nationwide was 23.5% in October, while support from institutional lenders helped marketplace lending platforms to increase their small business approval rate to 63.1% nationwide, according to data from the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index; the economy also has been steadily improving with GDP and jobs increasing; however uncertainty over the election has affected the broad market which has seen nine of the past 10 days reporting losses in the stock market and another recently delayed rate increase from the Federal Reserve; following the election, consumers and businesses will be closely watching the affects on the economy and interest rates specifically as the country's new president influences credit markets, marketplace lending and fintech overall. Source
Pymnts.com talks with OnDeck executives and reports on alternative lending volumes; online small business lender OnDeck has loaned more than $7 billion to merchants since 2007; OnDeck Chief Revenue Officer Andrea Gellert and Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jim Larkin provide insights on the lending market and OnDeck's lending processes; discuss OnDeck's partnership with JPMorgan and how collaboration is benefiting small and medium size business. Source
The marketplace lender has extended the maturity of its credit facility with Deutsche Bank to March 2019; the revised terms also add an additional $52 million to the credit facility; in comments regarding the revised terms, Howard Katzenberg, chief financial officer of OnDeck said, "The closing of this transaction reflects a continued ability to execute our financing strategy for 2017, which includes extending debt maturities and creating additional funding capacity for future loan growth." Source