Anthony Hsieh of loanDepot shared his insights on the marketplace lending industry at the Marketplace Lending and Alternative Financing Summit; said technology would be the industry's main barrier to entry, an even greater factor than regulation; according to Hsieh, tech-enabled platforms with scale in the market will have an advantage as the outlook for new capital is uncertain. Source
A new law has passed in New York to provide support for online lending; the law includes direction for the development of an outreach campaign that will educate small businesses about marketplace lending; educational materials will come from the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Financial Services and will include simple language detailing potential costs and risks including the disclosure of percentage rates, fees, charges and early repayment options. Source
The Federal Reserve released its Consumer Credit report for October on Wednesday; the report showed an increase of $16 billion in total consumer credit; revolving credit increased by $2.3 billion and non-revolving credit increased by $13.7 billion; the increase resulted in a seasonally adjusted annual rate of growth of 5.2%; at 5.2% the rate is the slowest since June; consumer spending was also down in October with a 0.3% increase signaling caution from consumers in spending and borrowing. Source
Wunder Capital is a crowdfunded investment firm focused on solar energy projects; it manages solar energy funds, provides customized financing and offers loans; its 2016 report says it has originated $87 million in financing across 310 deals with zero write offs; its solar energy funds include the Wunder Term Fund with a projected 2016 annual return of 8.5%, the Wunder Income Fund with a projected 2016 annual return of 6% and the Wunder Bridge Fund with a projected 2016 annual return of 11%. Source
Known for its personal finance and credit advice, Credit Karma has announced some new changes and initiatives with an overall rebrand; expanding on its free credit scores, credit reports and credit monitoring, the firm has launched Credit Karma Tax which will offer free tax preparation services; the service is driven by its acquisition of AFJC Corporation which provides online tax preparation solutions; with the tax offering, the firm has rebranded to convey itself as a financial assistance solutions provider; according to Credit Karma Founder and CEO Kenneth Lin, "We'll continue to add tools and features that will make Credit Karma more of a personal assistant for finance." Source
Business commerce and supply chain finance platform, Tradeshift, received an undisclosed equity investment from Santander InnoVentures; the capital will be used for expansion of their current platform and for growing the ecosystem around their B2B marketplace; Tradeshift is a business commerce platform where companies can buy, sell and tailor their B2B solutions. Source
Personal financial management app, Moven, is focusing on helping customers see the bigger picture when it comes to saving; features include savings account balance updates and a wish list timeline which helps keep consumers on track toward their saving goals; other apps such as Digit, Level Money, Chime, Dyme, Qapital and Simple are also providing similar services focused on motivating users to save for longer-term saving goals. Source
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested that Lending Club provide increased disclosure on its loan portfolio and sources of funds also suggesting they improve non-GAAP reporting which is potentially misleading for investors; Lending Club has agreed to provide more disclosure and evolved its SEC filings accordingly however it has defended its non-GAAP accounting procedures, reporting it did not see the measures as misleading; recent requests for added disclosure as a publicly traded company are included in the SEC's last correspondence on November 4; the items remain open and the SEC's most recent correspondence is in addition to its review of the company following the replacement of its CEO in May. Source
Credible has announced a new partnership with New Hampshire Higher Education Loan Corporation (NHHELCO); company is a multi-lender focused on loans and refinancing for higher education; the new partnership will add another student loan refinancing option to the site; with the addition of NHHELCO the platform now has seven refinancing lenders; NHHELCO will offer its EDvestinU Consolidation Loan product which allows for consolidation of federal and private loans with a fixed or variable-rate refinancing loan that includes repayment terms ranging from 5 to 20 years; the EDvestinU Consolidation Loan product offers variable-rate loans with interest rates from 2.47% to 6.07% APR and fixed-rate loans with interest rates from 3.94% to 7.54% APR. Source
OnDeck has obtained a $200 million revolving credit facility from Credit Suisse; $125 million of the funding will be available while the remaining $75 million will be provided at the lender's discretion; loans will be made to Prime OnDeck Receivable Trust II, LLC (Port II), financing Port II's purchase of OnDeck loans for collateral; firm says it will use a portion of the funds to prepay its $100 million Prime OnDeck Receivable Trust, LLC facility. Source
