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·Apr. 3, 2017

Big to Strong: China Fintech Entering a New Era

Though fairly young, fintech in China has really taken off the last few years as Yihan Fang, CEO of Yirendai explained in her LendIt USA 2017 keynote; when compared to other industries like insurance, fintech has shown a great deal of promise; payments have become widespread, online lending is growing steadily and new technologies like blockchain have taken off; this has allowed Yirendai to help the underbanked and create a credit data infrastructure; after a few high profile fraud cases the government has started to regulate the industry closely and the number of lenders has been consolidated; Yihan is optimistic about the future, she expects to be lending $15 billion per year by 2020 and hopes to increase the average assets under management of each high net worth investor on their platform. Source

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Asia/Pac News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 31, 2017

Online Lender Jinxing Investment on Trial in China

Fifteen employees of Jinxing Investment are on trial in Shanghai for fraudulent lending of 1.5 billion yuan (US$220 million); the employees are charged with illegally raising funds and taking investments from the public that were not used for their intended use; Ji Jianhua, the company's chief financial officer, told the court that the investments were fake and that funds were directed to personal or related accounts of president Wang Mian; the company shut down in June 2016 and Wang Mian escaped and has not been found. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 31, 2017

Follow Up Friday: CreditEase Reporting Significant Fintech Investment through Fintech Funds

CreditEase has been reporting significant fintech investment from a range of fintech funds managed by the firm; it announced this week that its CreditEase Wealth Management Offshore Private Credit Fund (OPCF) was investing $30 million in OnDeck and LendingHome and that it also had plans for another Offshore Private Credit Fund (OPCF II) focused on fintech with a $200 million investment target; at LendIt USA 2017 the firm announced three new fintech investments for its CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund (CEFIF) which has $1 billion in total committed capital; it's also investing in Israeli fintech through two funds focused on tech startups in Israel. Source

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Asia/Pac News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 30, 2017

Custodian Bank Services in China Evolving Slowly after Regulatory Requirement

The China Banking Regulatory Authority has mandated that all P2P lenders work with a custodian; a month after the requirement was announced, the majority of industry platforms have still not partnered with a custodian; most Chinese custodian banks do not offer P2P custodian services so the partnerships require added deliberation and communication; a number of new regulations are affecting the industry and it appears Chinese custodian banks will have a significant impact on the future of the industry given the online lenders they choose to partner with for P2P custodian services. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 29, 2017

Digital Investment Risks Continue in China

The Wall Street Journal reports on the prevalence of digital investment risk in China; notes 5,700 firms registered with the Association of Shanghai Internet Financial Industry; provides examples of losses from companies including Cosun and Shanghai Kuailu Investment Group. Source

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Asia/Pac News Roundup Online Lending

·Apr. 3, 2017

China’s CredEX Fintech Gains Positive Market Exposure from LendIt USA 2017

CredEX has created an intermediary peer-to-peer lending technology solution which allows banks to facilitate peer-to-peer loans; the company participated in a roundtable forum at LendIt USA 2017 with Peter Renton, founder of LendIt and Jo Ann Barefoot, former deputy comptroller of the currency and Harvard professor; in comments regarding CredEX, Peter says: "Their instant credit decisions and the robust underwriting platform they have built has allowed them to become a leading fintech company in China in a very short time. Unlike most fintech companies they are 100% app-based, they are funded by banks and they are doing more than US$1 billion in loans annually. They represent the future of lending." Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 31, 2017

Wins Finance Holdings Reports Gain of +3,000%

Bloomberg reports on Wins Finance Holdings (WINS) which currently has an inception to date return of 3,305% and is trading at $230; the Chinese company has a small business loan and equipment leasing business; the stock is in the Nasdaq Composite and reports the index's highest 12-month return; while the Chinese stock appears to be a little known discovery, its business financials are rather abstract; Bloomberg provides details on the company including information from its public reports which began with its 2015 Nasdaq listing. Source

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Asia/Pac News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 30, 2017

Yirendai Announces Performance Bond Agreement with PICC P&C

The new agreement with PICC P&C would provide Yirendai with a performance bond for certain loans originated through their marketplace; PICC P&C agreed to reimburse investors should any losses occur because of due diligence issues; Yihan Fang, CEO of Yirendai, said, "We are pleased to begin working with PICC P&C on performance bond. We believe a strong alliance between our two industry-leading companies will enable us to provide higher quality products and services to our customers to better serve the large demand for personal finance." Source

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Asia/Pac News Roundup Online Lending

·Mar. 30, 2017

Yirendai in California Court Case for Shareholder Lawsuit

Yirendai is being sued by shareholders for inadequate transparency, regulatory activity and risk management regarding Chinese government regulations; the company has requested the court toss the case; the case is focused on worst case revenue predictions that the company says were never realized. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup

·Mar. 28, 2017

HSBC Focusing on Wealth Management Operations in Asia

HSBC is planning to hire 1,000 new Asian wealth management operations employees; the announcement is part of a cost cutting initiative which has closed 60 branches in the UK and moved 200 IT-related jobs to Asia; the newly added employees will primarily be focused on Chinese retail banking and wealth management, adding to a team of 2,400 employees. Source

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