Lending Times has reported numerous improprieties at Argon Credit causing further investigation; the firm filed for bankruptcy on December 16; an article from Lending Times says Argon Credit used proceeds from lending capital for personal interests; also says investments were not accurately disclosed and directed; firm is involved in bankruptcy proceeding with investor; former founder also had a criminal record. Source
PeerIQ analyzes SoFi's new securitization, SCLP 2017-1; SoFi's unsecured consumer loans securitization portfolio was priced on January 20; the securitization was oversubscribed resulting in final collateralized loans of $655 million; the securitization is now the industry's largest securitization portfolio issuance; it included two rated tranches from DBRS and Kroll; tranche A included loans valued at $504 million with an A rating from both DBRS and Kroll; tranche B included loans valued at $60 million with a BBB rating from both DBRS and Kroll. Source
PeerStreet is a platform founded by Brew Johnson? and Brett Crosby; initially launched to take advantage of inefficiencies in the real estate market, the platform has grown to service a wide range of accredited investors; the platform has originated over $200 million in real estate loans; it attributes its success to the platform's focus on short-term, first position lien loans, and a robust legal and compliance team; Brew Johnson will be speaking at LendIt USA 2017 on a panel discussing "Residential & Commercial Real Estate: What's next for real estate crowdfunding?" Source
Goldman Sachs appears to be planning for a robo advisory service offering; the firm is advertising a job posting for a GSAM Technology digital experience developer that would build an automated robo advisory platform complementing the firm's asset management business; the bank's private wealth management business focuses on client's with approximately $50 million in investable assets; it has been broadening its client demographic recently by including business and retail products for investors with $1 million or less; a robo advisory service would add to other recent product expansions including the acquisition of GE Capital's online bank, Marcus and Honest Dollar. Source
Marcus by Goldman Sachs was launched in 2016 and marked an important point in the consumer lending industry as they decided to build their own platform from scratch; Ainsley O'Connell from Fast Company interviews head of Marcus, Harit Talwar; Talwar shares what was attractive about getting into personal loans and details the Marcus product; stated that there were many consumer pain points and Goldman Sachs was confident they could help; Goldman also has several advantages to give them an edge; not only do they have their own balance sheet, but they essentially built a startup, leaning on 147 years of experience; they also had the advantage that there were no conflicts over any legacy consumer businesses within Goldman; the company worked closely with consumers to bring to market a product they want which Talwar discusses in the interview. Source
Marketplace loans are attracting increased investment interest from all types of investors and specifically retail investors because of their low minimum investments and ease of access; Forbes outlines the industry's tools for platform diversification and aggregation in their article; featured platforms include NSR Invest, LendingRobot, BlueVestment and PeerCube. Source
CommondBond has expanded its loan offerings to include undergraduates; its products now include loans for undergraduate and graduate students, refinancing options for graduates and employer student loan benefits; its newly launched in-school loans have variable APRs starting at 2.87% and fixed APRs starting at 5.50%; they will also include a range of repayment options; in combination with the new loan offerings CommonBond will also partner with Pencils of Promise to support the educational funding of a child in need for every new loan funded on the platform; additionally, CommonBond has announced new online tools for comparing loans; the firm is also building out its employer student loan benefits product which involves integration with Gradible, which it acquired last year. Source
Rob Pfeifer has been appointed to chief risk officer at Affirm; was previously chief financial officer; Pfeifer has been with Affirm since March 2013; prior to Affirm, Pfeifer worked in various financial analysis roles; he has extensive experience in forecasting, reporting and deal transactions.
Ally Bank has expanded its banking products to include mortgages and will offer the loans through an online service called Ally Home; the online service offering seeks to meet heightened expectations and shifting market priorities for digital, tech-driven customer experiences; with Ally Home, borrowers will have the option to manage their communication through email and their documentation online through any device; the bank also says it has partnered with mortgage servicing specialist, LenderLive, to provide fast and efficient service. Source
Cross River Bank has added David Cotney to its board of directors; David Cotney brings in-depth experience in banking regulation and specifically bank chartering to the firm's board of directors; Cotney previously served as commissioner of banks for the Massachusetts Division of Banks where he was responsible for licensing and supervision of state-chartered financial entities; his industry experience also includes roles as chairman of the State Liaison Committee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. Source

