PeerIQ analyzes SoFi's new securitization, SCLP 2017-1; SoFi's unsecured consumer loans securitization portfolio was priced on January 20; the securitization was oversubscribed resulting in final collateralized loans of $655 million; the securitization is now the industry's largest securitization portfolio issuance; it included two rated tranches from DBRS and Kroll; tranche A included loans valued at $504 million with an A rating from both DBRS and Kroll; tranche B included loans valued at $60 million with a BBB rating from both DBRS and Kroll. Source
SoftBank Vision Fund is considering a $500 million investment in the Hong Kong IPO of ZhongAn Insurance, Thomson Reuters’ publication IFR cited people close to the deal; the fund is likely to be a cornerstone investor in ZhongAn’s up to $1.5 billion IPO, which is expected to launch as early as Sept. 18; SoftBank and ZhongAn declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Source
Financial trading startup Alpaca has raised $1.75 million from private market venture capitalists; company is using artificial intelligence and database technology to develop software as a service for investment market traders; current products include AlpacaAlgo with over 25,000 user built trading algorithms; platform has executed over $100 million in transactions. Source
AlfFi reports on some of the factors keeping institutional investors from marketplace lending with insight from Gabriella Kindert, investment manager at NN Investment Partners; discusses transparency and comparability, scale, regulatory risks, trust and sustainability, liquidity, and alignment of interests; also notes the importance of standardized measures for comparing risk and reward across investment options and the track record of the investment category. Source
Orchard provides some marketplace lending observations and lessons from 2016 in their featured blog post; cites comprehensively integrated risk management controls as essential; notes data quality as an important factor for investors; also says developing solutions for increased investor liquidity will be an increasingly important factor for investors as the industry evolves. Sponsored Blog Post
SoftBank is a telecommunications and internet focused business with its headquarters in Japan; the firm has announced it will be acquiring asset manager Fortress Investment Group for $3.3 billion; SoftBank owns and invests in a range of internet and digital businesses; the acquisition follows a previous collaboration between SoftBank and Fortress on a new $100 billion Vision Fund; Fortress will be run independently from SoftBank after the acquisition and will be led by existing Fortress principals Pete Briger, Wes Edens and Randy Nardone with close collaboration on the Vision Fund. Source
Teledata Communications Inc. (TCI) has released its DecisionLender 4 Direct Lending Module; the Module provides a technology platform that facilitates online lending for banks and credit unions; the platform allows for direct, indirect and online loan originations with configurable lending rules and workflows. Source
Berlin-based solarisBank has raised 26.3 million euros ($27.95 million) in a Series A funding round; investors included Arvato Financial Solutions, Japanese SBI Group, FinLeap, Hegus and Yabeo Capital; the company offers a banking platform solution that helps companies connect with innovative banking service modules for business integration. Source
The BBC reports on the practices of internet lenders, noting that borrowers should be cautious when searching for online loans in order to protect their credit scores; TSB says some loan providers issue a hard inquiry for a loan price or quote which can harm borrowers who are only considering loan options; the bank is lobbying for more regulated practices and says, "Personal loans providers must agree never to perform a hard credit check until the customer chooses to actually purchase a loan in full knowledge of the price being offered." Source
TCF Financial has stepped away from the auto lending business while Regions Financial and Fifth Third Bancorp are tapping the breaks according to American Banker; lenders are concerned with credit, regulation as well as low yields; some expect the trend to continue while creating an opportunity for lenders who stick around. Source