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
Jet Capital is a Dallas-based online lender primarily lending to underserved small businesses; it was launched in 2015 and currently focuses on businesses with 20 or fewer employees; the firm has identified Albuquerque as a growing target market with over 28,000 businesses in its target range; the firm's cash advances average approximately $25,000 and with the payouts, the company also purchases rights to future sales. Source
Androscoggin Bank launched a new online lending platform for small businesses in January to better compete with the market's options for online small business loans; the firm's Fast Response Business Loans Platform was built in partnership with an undisclosed fintech firm and has processed half a dozen loan applications since its launch; its lending criteria is based on credit score, number of years in business and being based in Maine; its interest rates start at 6% and it currently offers credit lines of up to $10,000 and term loans of up to $100,000. Source
UK peer-to-peer lender FundingSecure is a pawn broker providing loans against secured assets including jewelry, property, classic cars and fine art; its representative APR for borrowers is 35.4% and it markets interest of 16% annually for investors with a minimum investment of 25 British pounds; with the FCA approval it plans to offer IFISAs in the next two months. Source
Company has closed their first investment in Lithuania last month; other countries of operation include Estonia and Latvia; CEO and Co-Founder Marek Partel stated: "Lithuanians are the third biggest community of investors at EstateGuru and now they have the chance to invest into loans closer to them and our international investor base have even more options for diversification. The burgeoning Lithuanian real estate market is stable and mature while small and medium sized businesses are still often underserved by the banking sector like in many other European countries. With businesses already familiar with the concept of P2P lending and have been utilizing this option for some time, this represents a ripe opportunity for EstateGuru to join." Source
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
Omise is planning a funding round through digital cryptocurrency; the blockchain digital payments startup will sell digital ether tokens with a fundraising target of up to $16 million; the fundraising will begin in May and the service plans to launch in the fourth quarter; the digital cryptocurrency fundraising represents a new funding alternative to venture capitalist investing and allows the firm to gain public participation from a broad set of stakeholders without selling equity in the company. Source
The UK online lender was launched with a focus on secured aviation lending and has expanded to other types of transactions including secured capital equipment and property lending; it says the authorization will help it to expand and further concentrate efforts on its technological development; the firm has reported an 850% increase in loan volume in the last year; the firm has plans to launch in Australia and also expand to other regions. Source
MarketInvoice has appointed Shaun Alexander to head of risk; Alexander joins MarketInvoice from Santander and will be the firm's first head of risk directly overseeing the underwriting unit of the business; the new hire is another example of a fintech firm adding traditional banking risk oversight experience; MarketInvoice expects Alexander will help improve risk management for the firm by providing broader insight on sector risks and market risk factors. 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