The partnership will seek to promote growth of fintech startups in Latin America through investment and business development from QED Investors; Scotiabank has a strong presence in Latin America with interest in the region's digital innovation; it will look to QED Investors for customer development and support it in strategic investments. Source
Raisin allows customers to compare accounts at banks across Europe; Thrive Capital led the latest round with participation from previous investors Ribbit Capital and Index Ventures; funding now totals $64 million; the company has tripled the amount of funds transacted on the platform last year; it now has 27 bank partners and expanded from Germany and Austria to a total of 31 countries. Source
In an interview with CNBC, Ning Tang, CEO of CreditEase, provides insight on the China Banking Regulatory Commission’s regulation for China’s P2P lending industry; says the regulation will have positive long-term affects; focuses on the requirement of P2P lenders to work with banks as a custodian and says CreditEase has complied with this requirement for many years. Source
RealtyMogul has announced it will open its MogulREIT I Fund for self-directed IRA investing; the announcement will give non-accredited investors access to higher performing alternative credit investments for a minimum of $1,000; the Fund has also announced a new dividend reinvestment option and two new property investments. Source
Caitlin Long, chairman and president of Symbiont, talks about why blockchain technology is ideal for syndicated loans; syndicated loans are some of the most complexly structured loans in the credit market; they involve multiple originators for a single loan and add significant balance sheet capital for corporations; blockchain could help reduce the syndicated loan deal funding process currently averaging over 20 days; it could also streamline documentation and loan processing providing significantly improved transparency and also supporting better loan market trading activities; Caitlin will be speaking about blockchain and its integration with loans at LendIt USA 2017. Source
Alternative credit data company VerumView has developed a product primarily focused on capturing data surrounding an end-user's email; it's built on an API-based know your customer service (KYC) and helps to provide credit decisions on thin file borrowers; the system can service the following: identity verification, fraud detection, KYC, anti-money laundering, TF prevention, loan and insurance underwriting, credit and affordability scoring, competitive analysis and targeted marketing. Source
The online lender has started a new marketing push to highlight new product offering to millennials; the company placed ads over the Thanksgiving holiday on TV and in newspapers with a unique twist on Black Friday. Source
Two years ago John Hancock acquired AI startup Guide Financial that helped to set the stage for their newly released robo-advisor Twine; “We weren’t going to be a Vanguard, and on the other hand, there are actors like Robinhood — we landed somewhere in the middle,” said Barbara Goose, John Hancock’s chief marketing officer as reported by Tearsheet; the company is completely separate from John Hancock, in technology stack and management, though they do coordinate with the firm through their innovation officer; allowing Twine to be separate but still connected to the main firm gives them flexibility and allow them to target their millennial customer. Source.
J.D. Power is out with their most recent Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study and small businesses are still dissatisfied with banks; the biggest issue that could increase positive interaction with small businesses and banks is more account representatives; having someone available to speak to SMBs and help them is something that is sorely lacking; banks have seen market share go to fintechs and digital banks in recent years so better serving this key customer group is something the banks need to recognize. Source.
UBS has partnered with Amazon to utilize Amazon's Alexa artificial intelligence (AI) for a pilot program with wealth management clients in the UK; Alexa will provide answers on inquiries about wealth management topics and the economy for clients through several devices; the partnership follows a trend toward use of artificial intelligence in the wealth management industry and a deal by UBS with robo adviser SigFig for account services; Alexa's AI capabilities offer a cost efficient way to provide information and standardized advice for wealth management clients. Source
