Insurtech firm Lemonade is expanding to 46 new states and the District of Columbia; launch in Washington, Wyoming and Mississippi will be delayed because of statutory wait times; firm will continue to focus on its main product which includes insurance for homeowners and renters. Source
LendingRobot is planning to offer its clients a new marketplace lending credit fund with blockchain automated fund reporting; algorithms will automate investors' fund preferences into one of four options based on risk tolerance and investment horizons; the fund offering will add to the company's current business which allows customers to invest in multiple loan platforms from a single account. Source
Small business marketplace lender Bizfi.com has announced a new milestone; cumulative originations reached $2 billion in December; firm offers direct loans and provides a range of financing solutions for US small businesses including loans from alternative lenders and the Small Business Administration; platform has over 45 funding partners. Source
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
Marketplace lender Argon Credit has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; its loan underwriting was centered around machine learning algorithms which it marketed as decisioning as a service; offered subprime loans from $2,000 to $35,000 with APRs ranging from 4.99% to 149%; in May 2015 it secured a $75 million debt funding investment from credit hedge fund, Princeton Alternative Funding; prior to that it had raised $5.05 million. Source
Diwakar Choubey of MoneyLion speaks with Lend Academy in their last podcast of 2016; MoneyLion is an online lender also offering a financial wellness app; firm has received significant funding in 2016; MoneyLion launched in 2014 with an initial focus on a data decision services platform which later evolved into a full service lending platform; firm currently functions as a balance sheet lender but plans to expand to a hybrid approach in 2017. Source
Lending Club is offering a bonus for IRA investors; Lend Academy provides details in their article; any investor who opens or adds to an IRA account with at least a $5,000 investment by April 30, 2017 will receive a bonus; bonuses range from $150 to $3,000 for investments from $5,000 to $100,000 and over. Source
Parasail Health has built a lending platform to support loans for healthcare expenses; firm has partnered with healthcare companies to provide alternative payment options for healthcare needs; Parasail currently has contracts with over 700 providers and has built integration capabilities for approximately 15 channel partners; offers loans and simplified payment processing for a range of healthcare expenses. Source
Avant's new partnership with Regions bank is helping growth projections and business development plans for the firm in 2017; Avant says the Regions partnership which began in October is expected to generate 25% of the firm's loan volume in 2017; the partnership includes referrals from Regions for customers who are not approved for loans; the firm also has four other partnerships planned for 2017; it plans to hire 125 new employees and is targeting monthly loan volume for 2017 of $250 million; also says it's launching a credit card product in July; the credit card will be offered to customers not approved for loans on the platform. Source
Citizens Bank has entered into a partnership with Fundation to extend capital to small businesses; Citizens Bank will offer a digital solution so small businesses can apply and get a loan through one process; businesses who don't meet Citizens' credit profile will then be underwritten by Fundation; this is the second fintech partnership for Citizens Bank as they recently entered into a partnership with digital wealth management service SigFig. Source