Folk2Folk is the most recent marketplace lender in the UK to receive full FCA authorization; largest P2P lender to receive the authorization with origination volume of over 125 million British pounds since 2013; allows it to seek HMRC approval for offering clients the option to invest through an innovative finance individual savings account; minimum investment for platform investors is currently 25,000 British pounds; platform provides secured loans to small businesses with property or land as collateral. Source
Harvard Business School has released a comprehensive report on the state of small business lending and its current landscape; Lend Academy provides more details in their article with insight from author, Brayden McCarthy of Fundera; paper includes details on the evolution of online lending within the small business lending market; goals of the paper include laying a foundation for regulatory reform and exploring how online small business lenders can partner with banks. Source
Betterment has increased its assets under management (AUM) by approximately $1 billion in eight months; AUM is currently $6.2 billion; diversification to new client segments has significantly helped the firm to grow; beginning as a consumer focused platform, it now has a Betterment for Business platform with approximately 300 customers; the early expansion to businesses primarily underserved by legacy providers is likely to be an advantage for the firm as robo advisor offerings increase. Source
SmartBiz has been ranked the number one provider for non-Express, SBA 7(a) loans under $350,000 and fifth among providers for traditional SBA 7(a) and Express 7(a) loans under $350,000; SmartBiz is the first SBA marketplace and bank-enabling technology platform; it facilitates small business lending from banks; in the government's 2016 fiscal year, SmartBiz generated $200 million in funded SBA 7(a) loans. Source
Lemonade has raised $34 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst; the Series B round brings the total funding to $60 million; the company plans to use the funding for state expansion with California as its next target. Source
Deutsche Bank has hired Elly Hardwick as head of innovation and Philip Milne as chief technology officer for innovation; both will help to improve internal and external communication and integration of new technologies for the bank; Hardwick will lead the bank's innovation activities and manage the Deutsche Bank Labs; Milne will facilitate communication between the Deutsche Bank Labs and the bank's internal technology organization. Source
In a report on the structured finance market, Fitch Ratings provides an outlook for 2017; says losses from auto loan asset-backed securities could increase with rising defaults; also notes increased risk from marketplace lenders and industry securitizations which have been reporting higher delinquency and loss rates; says the best performance is likely to be from residential mortgage and commercial mortgage securitizations. Source
Report from the Federal Reserve explores blockchain for payments, clearing and settlement; paper includes information obtained from interviews with approximately 30 industry stakeholders; says distributed ledger technology could improve processes for payments, clearing and settlement however implementation and adoption of the new technology present challenges. Source
MoneyLion has raised $22.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Edison Partners; the company will use the funds to improve and expand its mobile application services; the mobile application currently provides customers with tools and advice for managing their finances; it also provides loans. Source
Finexcap, an online invoice financing platform, has partnered with Sage to expand its customer base; through the partnership the two firms have created Sage Clic&Cash; Sage Clic&Cash will offer invoice financing to approximately 600,000 small business clients using the software product Sage or Ciel. Source