Payday lender, Advance America, and its representative association, the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), have filed a motion with the court to halt regulatory pressure on banks to end relationships with payday lenders; the motion follows the decision by U.S. Bancorp and four other banks to end their relationship with Advance America citing regulatory pressure as a factor; regulators say they have done nothing to pressure banks to end relationships with payday lenders; the court motion is part of an ongoing litigation process involved with a court case filed by Advance America and the CFSA in 2014. Source
Polychain Capital, a hedge fund that focuses on investing in digital assets such as bitcoin and ether has raised $10 million; the funding comes from venture firms Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures; the company launched in September with $5 million from 30 investors and is led by Olaf Carlson-Wee who was also the first employee of Coinbase; according to Olaf: "There will be many types of assets codified into the blockchain, and they are all not just going to be on the bitcoin blockchain — it's going to be a number of different assets here. And the best way to invest in that is a diversified portfolio." 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
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
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
Able Lending has one of the industry's most unique business models, allowing small business lenders to source loans from their personal network to lower lending costs; Lend Academy interviews Will Davis of Able Lending for more insight on the platform's business; at Able Lending, personal network backers take a subordinated position, allowing the lead lender to get paid back first while offering a lower cost of borrowing overall; the firm has been successful with this lending model, reporting over 80% of loans utilizing backers; it has also seen steady origination growth, with volume growing from $3 million in the first year to $30 million in the second year and an expected $100 million in its third year. Source
LendingHome has reported over $1 billion in mortgage loan originations since it launched two and a half years ago; company is the leading marketplace lending mortgage loan originator in real estate; factors influencing the rapid growth include expansion to jumbo loans and a new investor platform for individuals; active in securitization, it has partnered with Nomura Securities International and developed the industry's first master trust securitization vehicle providing it with ongoing access to the securitization market. 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
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
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