In a report by Moody's Investor Services, the rating agency has downgraded the global asset management industry to negative; factors for the downgrade are focused on active management performance, global regulation and increasing costs; a McKinsey report published last month pointed to the new fiduciary rule, set to be enacted in April 2017, as an industry altering step as advisers will be forced not to consider their self interests with high commissions when servicing their clients; capital has continued to flow from actively managed funds to ETFs with costs being significantly lower. Source
A new law has passed in New York to provide support for online lending; the law includes direction for the development of an outreach campaign that will educate small businesses about marketplace lending; educational materials will come from the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Financial Services and will include simple language detailing potential costs and risks including the disclosure of percentage rates, fees, charges and early repayment options. Source
Business commerce and supply chain finance platform, Tradeshift, received an undisclosed equity investment from Santander InnoVentures; the capital will be used for expansion of their current platform and for growing the ecosystem around their B2B marketplace; Tradeshift is a business commerce platform where companies can buy, sell and tailor their B2B solutions. Source
A study by Ernst and Young and DBS Bank finds Chinese fintech companies are advanced in their financial innovation services which they are developing for a strong consumer demand; this demand is being driven by minimal access to credit, increased internet users and few regulatory barriers; success is occurring in numerous fintech markets with an increased focus on the payments industry. Source
RealtyShares closed investment for its Diversified Marketplace Equity Fund on Monday; the platform offers a range of crowdfunded investments including both debt and equity; the Diversified Marketplace Equity Fund offers investors exposure to middle market equity real estate investments in a diversified portfolio with 10 to 20 property investments. Source
Atom Bank, a digital-only bank, has been growing significantly, now announcing a new mortgage offering; the company will offer residential mortgages through brokers; adds to its small business lending product; company recently announced it has 100 million British pounds in deposits; in the UK it is one of the region's most well-funded digital-only banks with over 135 million British pounds of capital raised from company investors. Source
The new head of Ant Financial's international operations, Douglas Feagin, helped ink a deal with 930,000 merchants across Europe to help Chinese travelers use Alipay; Doug Feagin explained to the Financial Times why the deal was done: "120 million Chinese travelers went abroad in 2015 and that's growing at 18% a year. The vast majority of whom use Alipay."; Alipay has now expanded into India, Europe and Southeast Asia; it is still looking to go public in the near future. Source
According to a report from Reuters, more large businesses in China are increasing their internal mergers and acquisitions teams and relying less on investment banks for intermediary deal support; Fosun, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. are examples, with all three reportedly expanding their in-house mergers and acquisitions teams. Source
Anthony Hsieh of loanDepot shared his insights on the marketplace lending industry at the Marketplace Lending and Alternative Financing Summit; said technology would be the industry's main barrier to entry, an even greater factor than regulation; according to Hsieh, tech-enabled platforms with scale in the market will have an advantage as the outlook for new capital is uncertain. Source
Wellesley has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs; firm is seeking to raise 1.5 million British pounds; plans to use the funds for business expansion, marketing, human resources and technology development; in 2016, firm has raised 80 million British pounds primarily from multi-unit real estate property development loans; sources have also reported that the company has received a First Gazette notice for late accounts. Source