Kreditech Russia has received Microfinance Company status from the Central Bank of Russia; the approval follows new regulation in Russia that requires the status for increased transparency in the microfinance alternative lending market; Kreditech Russia was established in 2013 and is part of Kreditech Group which was founded in 2012 and has its headquarters in Germany; in 2016, Kreditech Group reported loan origination volume of EUR 125 million ($133.58 million). Source
Manatt provides a roundup on what is going on in financial services law; stories include: Industry Groups Respond on Consumer Access to Financial Records, Home Depot Settles Data Breach Suit for $25M, CFPB Proposes Delay for Prepaid Rule, Payday Lenders Can't Halt Operation Choke Point, Court Rules, and Mortgage Lender Hit With Record HMDA Penalty. Source
BlackRock's new investment management executive Mark Wiseman has reorganized the business with a greater focus on automated investing for its active funds; the changes will focus on the actively-managed equities business and include pricing changes and increased use of computer models for active investment funds; the firm's passive investments have helped it grow assets under management to $5.1 trillion however its active fund performance has lagged and in 2016 reported $275.1 billion invested, a decrease from $317.3 billion three years prior. Source
A bankruptcy court filing has caused the share price to drop for BofI however FBR is maintaining its outperform rating; BofI is a banking affiliate to online lender Quick Bridge who is the defendant in a court case in which a plaintiff in bankruptcy is seeking to annul its debt from the lender; the plaintiff is claiming the lending relationship violates state laws and that the loan is not valid. Source
The UK has triggered Article 50 and the 27 European Union countries will now begin negotiating with the UK for new terms; Innovate Finance's Lawrence Wintermeyer provides comments on the effects on fintech; says Brexit will make it more challenging for the UK to attract global investment and talent; Wintermeyer also says Brexit could potentially create new opportunities for regtech which will become increasingly important in cross-border activities. Source
The Singapore Exchange has closed a deal with online debt and equity crowdfunding platform Crowdo with terms of the deal including support for raising small and medium enterprise (SME) awareness or capital funding availability in Singapore, information sharing and cross-referral of clients; similar deal terms were included in the Singapore Exchange and PwC deal with promotion of the Singapore startup ecosystem a central component of the deal. Source
UK marketplace lender Landbay has lowered its borrowing rates and fees in an effort to refresh its offerings for buy-to-rent property borrowers; rates for a two-year fixed term loan will now start at 3.39% and rates on a five-year fixed term loan will start at 3.59%; arrangement fees have also been reduced to 1.5% from 1.75%; the firm has also made some changes to its approval criteria; Paul Brett, managing director of intermediaries at Landbay had the following comments: "We are constantly listening to our intermediary partners and to the requirements of the market. Our rates have been reduced across the board to ensure we remain competitive whilst our criteria enables us to serve a wide range of specialist borrowers seeking a fast decision." Source
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
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
AlfFi reports on some of the factors keeping institutional investors from marketplace lending with insight from Gabriella Kindert, investment manager at NN Investment Partners; discusses transparency and comparability, scale, regulatory risks, trust and sustainability, liquidity, and alignment of interests; also notes the importance of standardized measures for comparing risk and reward across investment options and the track record of the investment category. Source