In an interview with Business Insider at LendIt Europe Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky discussed the company’s continued record growth and office culture; he explains, "Nowadays people are all international. Banks are not providing this service. The vision for us is alternative global banking. Anyone in the world can just download the Revolut app and set up a local bank account to access any services they need.”; the interview also touched on the drive of his employees and his kite surfing hobby. Source.
Featured keynote speaker Richard Cordray from the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) discussed the Bureau's fintech initiatives at LendIt USA; a video of the presentation can be found here; in prepared remarks Cordray discussed the Bureau's focus on both providers and consumers with three areas of special interest including: consumer-friendly innovations, consumers' control over their personal financial data and the use of alternative sources of data for underwriting loans; recent fintech innovation activity from the CFPB has primarily been centered around its Project Catalyst; on February 16 the CFPB also issued a request for information on the uses of alternative credit data with an open comment period until May 19. Source
Ripio, previously known as BitPagos, has secured $1.9 million in funding for expansion in South America; the firm's Series A funding investors included Huiyin Blockchain Venture, Digital Currency Group, Boost VC and Draper VC; the company was founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina and will use the funding for expansion to Brazil and Mexico; currently the firm offers bitcoin and digital wallet services; it targets underserved banking consumers through its wallet app which also aggregates data for microloan approvals. Source
Ripple has announced the appointment of a new CEO; Brad Garlinghouse, previously president and chief operating officer, will take over the role as of January 1, 2017; Garlinghouse will replace Chris Larsen who will become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors; the fintech blockchain payments company has been significantly expanding in 2016 with its network now including 15 of the top 50 global banks; much of the company's growth has been attributed to Larsen who will now take more of a strategic adviser role. Source
The San Francisco based blockchain startup has more than 100 institutions using its RippleNet payment network “The technology we have, and the vision we have, is proven," Marcus Treacher, Ripple's global head of strategic accounts tells American Banker. "We've gone from theory to hard-nosed production, and that's a big event.”; the two way protocol allows for banks on both sides of the transaction to verify funds and fees. Source.
The registered investment advisory business reported 138 transactions in 2016 setting a record for industry merger and acquisition (M&A) activity; since 2009 the industry has reported a compound annual growth rate of 16% for M&A deals; increased regulatory oversight from the Department of Labor has been one factor; the market data provided by Echelon Partners also provides additional information on the industry landscape for the registered investment adviser market. Source
Bloomberg reports on the possibility of ride-sharing companies getting into financial services; Grab is a leading ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia; app users can now start sending credits which are used to pay for rides to other users; by the end of 2017 credits will be able to be used at 1,000 restaurants and retailers, turning Grab into much more of an e-payment platform than just a taxi service; in Indonesia, the 200,000 drivers of Go-Jek can use e-wallets to store their earnings and also spend funds on a variety of services; article also shares innovation in Kenya with M-Pesa as well as China's Alibaba and WeChat. Source
Ripple has struck partnerships with MUFG, BBVA, SEB, Akbank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, SBI Remit, Star One Credit Union, EZ Forex and Cambridge FX; these new partnerships show Ripple's reach as they range from Japan, India, Canada and the US; banks were a big part of this new group, as Ripple vice president of product, Asheesh Birla, explained to CoinDesk: "The reason that we chose to work with banks is that they are experts in local regulation. A lot of them have that pull and understand the regulatory environment and we built our product in such a way that it fits within the different regulatory schemes around the world." Source
Ripple is a leading innovator in the current internet of value market also currently involved with the Federal Reserve's payments task force initiatives; the firm has enhanced its XRP product suite and rebranded it as RippleNet; their blog post provides more details on RippleNet's product offerings. Source
A growing number of refinancing products have increased student loan refinancings in recent years; however in the current environment, borrowers may see less savings from refinancing; borrowers reported average rate refinancing reductions of 2.2% earlier this year and that number has been trending lower since 2014 when borrowers reported rate reductions of over 3%; in 2016 student loan refinancings accounted for over $200 million for institutions on the LendKey platform; that value and the business for alternative refinancing platforms is at risk of trending lower as rates rise and the benefits of refinancing decrease overall. Source