RateSetter has added additional detail to its annual performance statistics to provide greater transparency; the additional details provide data on loan originations by lending type with a breakdown of consumer and commercial loans; for commercial lending the firm will now also disclose loans to property developers, small and medium size enterprises, and wholesale lenders; the changes were prompted by a request from the Financial Conduct Authority for greater disclosure on wholesale lending across the industry; the update from RateSetter also included a report on a defaulted loan that RateSetter has taken onto its balance sheet to protect investors. Source
Social Finance Inc. has filed as a sponsor for a securitization portfolio of private student loans; SoFi Lending Corporation, will act as the securitizer for the SoFi Professional Loan Program LLC 2017-B (SOFI 2017-B) portfolio. Source
Google's artificial intelligence unit, DeepMind, is using blockchain technology to build an auditing system for analyzing and storing healthcare data; the system will mainly focus on tracking all of a person's hospital health data and centrally storing it for access and ownership by individuals; DeepMind will also make its system available through open source software allowing for the technology to be utilized for broader solutions including auditing identities, financial records and private corporate data. Source
Alex Tapscott took the stage on day two of LendIt USA to begin the day with a discussion on how blockchain can help financial services; blockchain technology has the potential to recreate the infrastructure that the financial services industry was built upon and consumers and banks appear to be onboard with the use of the new technology; however its implementation is far from ready and Tapscott says will not be a reality for at least another three to four years. Source
The B3i blockchain insurance consortium was founded in October 2016 to focus on blockchain-based solutions for the insurance industry; it began with five companies and has now announced the addition of 10 new members; overall members of the consortium believe the technology has the potential to streamline paperwork and reconciliations, accelerate information and money flow, and significantly improve auditability; the consortium was created to develop a common set of standards and procedures around these initiatives; B3i plans to release an initial report on its research by June 2017. Source
Marlette Funding has filed for a new securitization portfolio, Marlette Funding Trust 2017-1; the portfolio details were filed by Marlette Funding Depositor Trust; associated parties include Deutsche Bank Securities, Citigroup Global Markets and Goldman Sachs; the portfolio will contain unsecured consumer loans originated by Marlette. Source
The market has reported the first securitization of Lending Club prime loans, the Arcadia Receivables Credit Trust (ARCT 2017-1); the portfolio has been priced by Jefferies and is backed by $220 million of Lending Club prime loans as collateral; the loans come from Cirrix Capital's marketplace lending fund which is overseen by Arcadia; the securitization has two tranches which have both received a rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency; tranche A includes the majority of the loans with $176.9 million in collateral and a BBB rating; tranche B includes $36.75 million in loans with a BB- rating; PeerIQ provides further analysis on the portfolio and how it compares to other similar securitization deals. Source
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied the approval of a rule change proposal that would have allowed for the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF to be traded on the Bats BZX Exchange, also operated by the Winklevoss brothers; approval would have created the US's first publicly traded bitcoin investment fund; the SEC cited two main factors in their disapproval of the investment: 1) the Exchange lacks surveillance-sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying bitcoin commodity and 2) the markets involved in bitcoin trading are not sufficiently regulated. Source
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has reported successful use of blockchain in inter-bank payments; the MAS blockchain inter-bank payments project began in November 2016 and was tested in partnership with R3 and a consortium of financial institutions; Deloitte will provide a report on all aspects of the project and its successes; MAS has reported a continuation of blockchain testing, next in fixed income securities trading and settlement at the Singapore Exchange and also in cross border payments using central bank digital currency; the country's active role in blockchain technology testing is also likely to influence the UNCITRAL Working Group IV which meets in April and is leading initiatives around a legal framework for cross border transactions which is likely to be based on blockchain technology. Source
National Australia Bank's (NAB) venture capital business, NAB Ventures has joined in an investment round raising $24 million for Veem, a foreign exchange startup business; Veem provides business to business cross border payment services with blockchain technology; NAB and NAB Ventures have been actively involved in technology investments also investing in Data Republic, Medipass Solutions and Localz; Australia is also taking a lead role in developing blockchain standards globally; it is active in the development of blockchain standards through the ISO/TC 307 and will host the first international blockchain standards meeting for ISO/TC 307. Source