Banking-as-a-service, banking-as-a-platform, platform-as-a-service, open banking and open application program interfaces (APIs) are all terms being used by fintech companies who are building innovative products for banks; the long term question is will the banks buy or partner with this technology and in a banking system like the US how wide will adoption need to be for the banking system as a whole to change; recent surveys by Cornerstone Advisors of 300 community banks, regional banks and credit union CEOs shows the current economic environment and presidential election has them very optimistic; when they are making money, they innovate less. Source
Future Finance has received commitment for £30 million from the European Investment Fund (EIF) to lend to master's degree students supported by the Erasmus+ European program; Future Finance is a student lending platform active in the UK and Germany; Erasmus+ subsidizes career skills-driven education for over 300,000 higher education students across the European Union; EIF's commitment involves loan guarantees that will encourage investing and borrowing on Future Finance's platform; it has launched a "Call for Expression of Interest" targeting additional financial institutions that finance master's degree students crossing national borders in the EU. Source
UK based Digital Bank Monzo is planning a crowdfunding round to give customers a greater share of ownership; the round will look to raise between $13mn and $40mn; while they will use the round for hiring it is meant to provide customers “a genuine sense of ownership”; the crowdfunding round follows the recent $94mn private equity backed fundraising. Source.
The Global Digital Asset Exchange or GDAX is looking to list initial coin offerings that have thus far shown some level of success; the exchange has started too come under pressure to increase listings as investor interest in ICOs continues to stay red hot; as they try to meet demand they also want to be sure to not list too many and end up having startups that don’t deliver; GDAX is looking for track record of success, real world implementation and helps to create an open financial system. Source.
Capital One is continuing to build on its Capital One Cafe venture by opening new cafés targeting millennials throughout the United States; the bank will be opening new locations in San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Austin and Richmond over the next two months; the cafés offer a range of services to the public including free WiFi and coffee; the bank is also using the cafés to market to millennials with digital portals offering online financial advice and space for financial coaching sessions; locations are also staffed with Capital One representatives to offer banking and customer service support. Source
Payments.com provides an overview of small business lending activity worldwide; SME lending in China increased 17% from a year ago to $3.2 trillion; in London, over half of small businesses report being turned down for a loan; other highlights include SME statistics for Canada, a new SME financing platform from NatWest and rising rates in the US affecting SME borrowers. Source
In an interview with CNBC, Ning Tang, CEO of CreditEase, provides insight on the China Banking Regulatory Commission’s regulation for China’s P2P lending industry; says the regulation will have positive long-term affects; focuses on the requirement of P2P lenders to work with banks as a custodian and says CreditEase has complied with this requirement for many years. Source
Aviva, Hillhouse Capital and Tencent have announced plans for a new digital insurer, Aviva Hong Kong; Aviva and Hillhouse will own 40% with Tencent owning the remaining 20%; the new platform will focus on selling digital life insurance in Hong Kong and will also offer additional investment products. Source
State Street and the Alternative Investment Management Association have released a report on decreased liquidity in the investment market; approximately half of respondents see less market liquidity as a long-term factor and three-fifths of respondents are considering less trading liquidity in their investment strategies; report cites new market entrants, electronic platforms and peer-to-peer lending as reasons for increased illiquidity in the market overall; report says investors are focusing on three areas to adapt to the shift in market liquidity including rationalizing risk, optimizing for liquidity, and implementing new rules and tools. Source
LendingRobot has announced the launch of a new alternative lending hedge fund; Lend Academy provides details in their article; the new fund will add to the service offerings at LendingRobot which currently include aggregated marketplace lending investment accounts for both retail investors and financial advisors; the new LendingRobot Series fund will invest in online loan origination platforms and offer multiple strategies for investors with expected net returns ranging from 6.86% to 9.66%; the fund is only open to accredited investors and requires a minimum investment of $100,000; it has a 1% management fee with fund expenses of up to 0.59%. Source