Through Autonomous NEXT the research firm will provide a suite of products and services with in-depth analysis of banking innovation and fintech; Autonomous Deputy CEO Erick Davis says, "We discovered untapped demand for insight on financial technology and innovation, and are excited to bring this to market."; focus areas will include robo advisors, blockchain, neobanks, insurtech, chatbots and artificial intelligence; in its first available report the firm provides metrics on fintech growth by financial services category. Source
Thomas Curry spoke on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's fintech charter at LendIt USA; Curry primarily refuted arguments against the OCC's authority for establishing a fintech charter; Curry sited the National Bank Act stating, "To be clear, the National Bank Act does give the OCC the legal authority to grant national bank charters to companies engaged in the business of banking."; the banking charter would encompass all fintech companies engaging in banking activities regardless of whether or not they take banking deposits; the OCC is still evaluating the provisions of the fintech charter following its December 2016 white paper and comment period which ended in January 2017. Source
loanDepot has been steadily becoming one of the US's top mortgage lenders, rivaling both online businesses and traditional institutions; Anthony Hsieh talked with Forbes at LendIt USA about the growth of the business; the company has funded over $100 billion in mortgage loans and is building out a fintech ecosystem that will empower future market growth and product expansion; loanDepot is the third online mortgage company founded by Anthony Hsieh and the company is in its eighth year of operations; Hsieh says the firm is potentially considering an IPO. Source
LendingPoint plans to expand its online balance sheet lending services nationwide with support from a new partnership with FinWise Bank; LendingPoint currently offers loans in 26 states with nationwide expansion now planned for the first half of 2017; the firm uses a proprietary credit model that seeks to provide loans for fair credit consumers with credit scores ranging from 600 to 700; LendingPoint has funded more than $185 million in loans; its loans range from $3,000 to $20,000, with terms from 24 to 48 months. Source
Lantern Credit has acquired the Abstract Regression Classification (ARC) Machine Learning Library to enhance its proprietary machine learning solution, Beam AI; the firm expects the acquisition and machine learning enhancements to improve its credit advice, credit offers and support for financial institutions; according to Chad Swensen, CEO of Lantern Credit, "Leveraging the ARC software to advance the Beam AI technology produces the most advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning application in the consumer credit management space." Source
Motif provides an investment trading platform with themed investment portfolios for retail investors; the company has now introduced Motif Impact Portfolios for socially responsible investing; the Motif Impact Portfolios will feature companies focused on one of three social values: sustainable planet, fair labor or good corporate behavior; the portfolios were developed through a partnership with MSCI ESG Research; in comments regarding the announcement, Hardeep Walia, founder and CEO of Motif, noted that the introduction of the Motif Impact Portfolios will extend the company's commitment to innovative, accessible and fully-transparent financial products. Source
Scott Sanborn discussed the current market environment for online lending in his speech at LendIt USA comparing the industry to the growth of online retail and using Amazon as an example for how businesses can dramatically change and adapt to provide the best services for market needs; online lenders will have to be strategic in identifying market opportunities, building on their proprietary systems and partnering with other companies; Ash Gupta from American Express also noted at the conference the challenges and opportunities presented to online lending through the use of big data; the growing amount of data sourced by the industry has the potential to improve credit models and fraud prevention while also providing broader capabilities through machine learning technology. Source
Quona Capital has raised $141 million for its Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund focused on startups developing solutions for the underserved in emerging markets; investors in the $141 million funding round included Accion, MasterCard and JPMorgan Chase; other existing investors in the fund also include MetLife, TIAA Investments and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group; current Fund investments include Coins, Konfio and Creditas. Source
Financial reform is an uncertain topic for the fintech industry; Digiday talked with attendees at LendIt USA about their thoughts on the Trump administration's proposed regulatory reform; generally, participants reported that they believe the reform could increase interest from banks in partnering with fintech companies since deregulation gives them more flexibility for credit product expansion. Source
Leading digital transaction management firm eOriginal has been selected to manage electronic documentation processes for Fannie Mae; as a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae works with lenders nationwide; the eOriginal services will help improve all of the GSE's associated mortgage loan transactions providing support for lenders and loan portfolio services for Fannie Mae; in comments on the partnership, Cindy McKissock, vice president of customer digital experience at Fannie Mae said: "We continually look for ways to help lenders who want to deliver an end-to-end digital mortgage experience. In addition to investing in new eVault infrastructure, we are also simplifying eMortgage adoption by transitioning to the MISMO SMART Doc™ Version 3.0 format in 2017. This will reduce complexity and allow lenders and technology solution providers to adopt eMortgage with greater ease." Source