dv01 provides insight on marketplace lending originations with data from Lending Club, SoFi, Marlette and Prosper; shows 2Q17 originations increasing 21% from 1Q17 and up 52% from 2Q16 with average loan coupons increasing to 14.31%; average FICO has increased from 703 to 711 as firms tighten their credit underwriting. Source
Fred Wilson is urging investors to diversify their bitcoin assets before the crash comes; while he does not offer a timeframe for when this might occur he does think diversification will protect those who are heavily invested; he is a believer in the crypto markets in general and thinks they add value to a portfolio. Source.
Crowdfund Insider reports on regulatory developments in China's financial services sector; provides some additional insight on the CBRC's newly released document outlining ten high priority risks; according to Crowdfund Insider the chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), Xian Junbo, has now been placed under investigation as the country seeks to regulate the financial services industry overall. Source
Shadow banking in China increased to 58 trillion yuan which is more than 80% of GDP, according to a report from Moody's; total social financing has now risen to an estimated 220% of GDP; Moody's says light regulation in the nonbank sector is a concern and the new regulations proposed by the government are needed to help manage risk and keep the business from causing major liquidity problems for the broad market. Source
The Bank of Montreal, Caixabank, Erste Bank and Commerzbank join the Batavia blockchain project; the project was launched by UBS and IBM last year; Batavia looks to transform the trade finance industry; Marie Wieck, general manager of the blockchain team at IBM, tells the FT, “there is now a shift from technology projects to more of what I’d call ecosystem projects like this one.” Source.
"Bitcoin, a New Asset Class" has been published by authors Chris Burniske and Adam White; in their research they identify bitcoin as an emerging asset class analyzing its characteristics over time; they find that its volatility has been decreasing while its price has been increasing; the authors make the case for including bitcoin as an investment in modern portfolio theory calculations; they expect the cryptocurrency to gain increased institutional investment and imply that including it in a modern portfolio theory managed account could help investors more efficiently manage the investment risk according to their risk tolerance. Source
Lantern Credit has acquired the Abstract Regression Classification (ARC) Machine Learning Library to enhance its proprietary machine learning solution, Beam AI; the firm expects the acquisition and machine learning enhancements to improve its credit advice, credit offers and support for financial institutions; according to Chad Swensen, CEO of Lantern Credit, "Leveraging the ARC software to advance the Beam AI technology produces the most advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning application in the consumer credit management space." Source
The new rule forces lenders to to assess whether borrowers can repay the loans and limits rollovers, where customers take out new loans to repay old ones; the new rule is likely to face legal challenges and is primarily focused on loans under 45 days. Source
In a press release this week, marketplace lender, SoFi, provided more details on its partnership with Protective and announced the launch of a new term life insurance offering for millennials; product provides life insurance for up to $1 million and features a 20 minute application and approval process. Source
While regulators have shut down exchanges the market is still showing signs of life as investors are trading bitcoin and buying into ICOs; investors are using the price over the counter market to buy and sell cryptocurrencies; investors are also using messaging apps like WeChat and Telegram to get deals done; bitcoin miners are where the authorities have found greater success as there has been a big hit to miners since the crackdown occurred. Source.