A federal district court in the Southern District of New York has ordered the Bethune v. Lending Club Corporation, et al. case to proceed to arbitration; plaintiffs argue that Lending Club loans were in violation of state usury laws despite their association with WebBank; while the case is still pending, the court has said it will be decided through arbitration due to clauses in place by Lending Club. Source
Sequoia Capital, a well-known venture capital investor in technology, has announced executive changes that will empower a new generation of leaders for the firm; in an announcement this week Jim Goetz has named Roelof Botha as his replacement; Roelof Botha will take over Goetz's responsibilities as a Sequoia steward; Alfred Lin will also be replacing Goetz in his role managing Sequoia's United States venture business; Mr. Goetz also provided a letter to investors this week providing more insight on the changes. Source
Betterment has announced a new service that will offer professional advice from certified financial planners for an additional fee; the firm has structured the new service in two tiers providing for annual and unlimited advice; the annual access will be charged an additional 40 basis points with a minimum investment required of $100,000; the unlimited access will charge 50 basis points and require a minimum of $250,000; the new offering will target high net worth clients however the company will continue to maintain its $0 minimum investment; it is expected that robo adviser services will evolve to a hybrid model providing both automated and human services; Vanguard and Schwab offer a hybrid model with human advice available by phone or video chat. Source
John MacIlwaine has taken a new role as chief technology officer at Braintree; Braintree is a mobile payments technology company owned by PayPal; MacIlwaine submitted his resignation at Lending Club in December. Source
Knock has raised $32 million in a Series A funding round; the firm plans to launch an online real estate platform that will provide for greater real estate market liquidity; the firm will compete with OpenDoor and OfferPad also offering similar services; it's currently testing its platform investments in Atlanta, Georgia. Source
Online lender Avant was one company greatly affected by the industry's challenges in 2016; in May it laid off 60 workers with further reductions in July; it also paused its plans to expand into Australia and offer new auto loans and credit cards; a new partnership with Regions Bank has helped revive the company's growth and it also plans to announce another partnership in February; the new business activity has helped it to begin hiring again and it's currently looking for 25 technologists and some additional customer service support; in 2017 Avant's President, Adam Hughes, says the firm will focus on three main initiatives: growing Avant's core lending product, partnering with more brick-and-mortar banks and launching the credit card product; it also has plans to continue its previous initiatives including Australia expansion and auto loans. Source
SoFi has acquired Zenbanx which will expand its offerings for clients to digital banking; Zenbanx offers online and mobile banking with international money transfer services and deposits available in multiple currencies; SoFi's CEO Mike Cagney says he expects SoFi to begin offering customers digital banking accounts in the first quarter of 2017; according to a Wall Street Journal source the Zenbanx acquisition was valued at approximately $100 million. Source
Allen Webb of RiverNorth talks about the firm's marketplace lending fund; gives an overview of the portfolio selection criteria; talks about the fund's structure and some of the liquidity challenges presented by marketplace loans; says the firm is planning future webinars to educate investors on the fixed income investment.
Today, Prosper appointed Usama Ashraf as its new CFO; Ashraf will also oversee the capital markets side of the business to bring in new investors; Ashraf has more than 18 years experience in corporate finance and capital markets; recent positions include being the deputy chief financial officer and treasurer at Annaly Capital Management and corporate treasurer at USAA; David Kimball, Prosper's CEO stated: "We're thrilled to have someone with Usama's experience and track record in finance and global capital markets join our team. Usama will be instrumental in bringing new institutional investors onto the Prosper platform, including banks, as we continue to grow the platform in 2017." Source
James Blackham, former managing director and head of digital structuring at Goldman Sachs, is now leading a new insurtech startup; his firm, Just Miles, is focusing on personalized car insurance offerings; the firm has received venture capitalist funding and is developing its data analytics; at Just Miles, Blackham says he is taking the big data and analytics skills learned from his experience at Goldman Sachs and applying them to car insurance with the goal of providing an innovative car insurance solution for consumers. Source