LendingRobot and NSR Invest are robo-advisors in marketplace lending; the firms have now merged to become the largest robo-advisor in the space; Lend Academy discusses the history of each company and the reasoning behind the merger; discusses the unique aspects of each offering and what the go forward plan is for the merged company. Source
Highlights partnerships announced by Wells Fargo and Blend, and Walmart and Google Express; reports on economists' comments at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium discussing post-crisis market regulations and areas for further improvement; also mentions Jamie Dimon's annual letter and the role for third party risk infrastructure. Source
SoFi has faced challenges of opposition to its industrial loan charter from numerous parties for various reasons; now California Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, has written a letter to the FDIC calling for a public hearing to more broadly discuss the online lenders application and its market implications; fintech regulation is an ongoing topic for debate and Waters says, "Granting SoFi's application would set a precedent that a wide variety of other fintech companies may choose to follow even though concerns related to financial inclusion, consumer benefits, supervision, and regulation of such entities are still unresolved."; the industrial loan charter would give SoFi a number of advantages including the allowance for FDIC insured deposits with no supervisory reporting requirements at the holding company level; Waters also commented on the development of the OCC's special purpose national charter for fintech companies which would grant internet lenders nationwide business approval in a single charter, stating that the framework has not been fully developed for implementation; the industrial loan company charter is currently limited to business in the states of California, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. Source
Chinese fintech company QuantGroup has filed an IPO application with the SEC, planning to raise $200 million from IPO; QuantGroup will start evaluating the needs of potential investors in as early as September; JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley are working as the financial advisors for this IPO. Source (Chinese)
PitchIt @ LendIt Europe is one of the industry's most popular startup competitions providing eight finalists with unparalleled access to industry expertise and funding opportunities as well as invaluable exposure, branding and more at the event; hosted in partnership with Startupbootcamp, the event also offers fast-track status to the finalist round for Startupbootcamp Fintech Accelerator as one of its prizes; interested startup companies must submit their application by September 4 and finalists will be announced on September 10; more details about the competition can be found here. Source
The lawsuit according to Crowdfund Insider names former CEO Renaud Laplanche along with current and former board members as well as former CFO Carrie Dolan; according to the complaint: "Throughout the period December 11, 2014 and continuing through May 9, 2016 (the "Relevant Period"), the individual defendants breached their fiduciary duties to LendingClub by failing to institute adequate internal controls regarding financial disclosures, related party transactions, and data integrity and security, all while causing LendingClub to represent in the Registration Statement and a series of subsequent filings that such controls were sufficient."; two shareholders filed the suit. Source
After a pilot study with ZestFinance to test alternative underwriting, the firm has now announced it will extend its model to more broadly consider alternative data for loan underwriting approvals; alternative loan data is being increasingly utilized across the financial services industry; Ford believes the new underwriting initiative could help improve sales for the firm which are down 4.3% year-to-date through July. Source
Reports on improvements at Lending Club and activity at SoFi; provides commentary on 3Q17 activity; identifies QED Investors as the top fintech investor with 21 deals since 2010; shows 84 online lending deals in 2017 with $2.498 billion invested. Source
China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is now consulting some blockchain companies on ICOs, China Business News exclusively reports; now it is in the phase of collecting suggestions and having discussions; CSRC will particularly keep tabs on the fraud projects that raise money in the guise of cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Source (Chinese)
Singapore's LATTICE80 fintech hub has announced it will expand to London; it has registered as an entity and is seeking a location with plans to open by 2018; the expansion builds on the "Fintech Bridge" agreement signed by the UK and Singapore in 2016 to promote cross border collaboration; LATTICE80 is owned and operated by Singapore-based private investment firm Marvelstone Group which is actively developing new fintech services and solutions for the Asian and UK markets. Source