IBM and Maersk have completed a successful blockchain solution project for the container supply chain industry; plan to expand the solution to 10 million of the 70 million containers shipped annually; solution could provide cost savings for ship carriers of $38 billion per year. Source
Goldman Sachs has been offering more products to a wider range of consumers; this started with the acquisition of the online deposit platform of GE Capital; the firm is competing aggressively on their deposit rates to grow this base; in 2016 they launched Marcus, their online lending platform, and now have a new lending product called GS Select; product offers loans backed by investment portfolios for individuals that have a Fidelity financial adviser. Source
Creditas, a provider of online secured loans in Brazil, has raised $16 million from the asset-backed securitization market and will use the proceeds to fund auto loan refinancings; the firm partnered with Empirica Investimentos Gestao de Recursos Ltda to launch the securitized investment portfolio, FIDC Empirica Creditas Auto; Creditas seeks to capitalize on an auto loan refinancing market opportunity that has seen increased risk from higher defaults with decreased lending from traditional banks; Brazil reports secured personal credit accounts for 1% of the country's outstanding loans; Creditas plans to offer auto refinancing at monthly rates of 1.99% to 3.65% for an annual rate of approximately 37% which compares to bank rates annually of 120%. Source
According to the WSJ, SoFi is pulling back on its expansion to foreign markets and asset management; two executives, Peter Early and Arkadi Kuhlmann are leaving the firm as part of the shift in focus; they led asset management and banking respectively at SoFi; despite some of the challenges the company extended $3.52 billion in loans in the third quarter, up almost 80% from the same period last year. Source
Data from KPMG's Q4 2016 The Pulse of Fintech report showed US fintech funding decreasing to $12.8 billion in 2016, down from $27 billion in 2015; deal flow was also lower with 489 deals in 2016, a decrease from 615 deals in 2015; globally, funding was lower at $25 billion versus $47 billion in 2015. Source
The European Commission will implement a pilot project to study blockchain and is formalizing a European Union Blockchain Observatory; members of the Observatory will research blockchain solutions and uses; the Observatory is expected to become an expert resource for advising the European Commission on blockchain development and policy recommendations. Source
Chinese fintech company CreditEase has announced it will use Verint Systems, Inc. for customer service; Verint will provide speech analytics, call recording, quality management and customer reporting support services; according to CreditEase, the service provider will help the company reduce operating costs by approximately 45% annually. Source
Tracking consumer goods through the supply chain from origin to final transaction is another way blockchain is being utilized in today’s global market; with blockchain the supply process becomes less segmented and more streamlined which helps delivery efficiency; sellers can also provide detailed information on products through printed codes helping to increase confidence in consumer brands; these benefits and more are causing increased utilization of blockchain technology which is likely to lead to more widespread use by retail providers. Source
RateSetter now has over 2,000 broker dealers supporting loan originations on its platform with loans from the intermediaries doubling approximately every six months; top reasons for the borrowing from this channel include vehicle loans, home improvement and debt consolidation; firm has also lent $150 million since its launch in 2014. Source
Online mortgage broker Trussle is currently in the early stages of talks with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to potentially overhaul the mortgage application process; the plan that Trussle is pitching to the FCA is to help standardize documents needed in a format that they are needed in; Mr. Mahli told FTAdviser: "There's an unnecessary inefficiency in the way mortgage applications are packaged and submitted, which varies wildly from lender to lender. Uncertainty is the last thing a buyer wants when making what's often the biggest financial decision of their life."; currently the FCA will not comment on talks that are in such a nascent stage. Source