YieldStreet Co-Founder and CEO Milind Mehere knew what is was like to be shut out of investment opportunities; after successfully scaling and selling his previous business he started YieldStreet to provide real estate, litigation funding and more to a wider group of investors; the company has returned over $80mn of principal and interest to investors; seeing litigation funding as one of the more interesting parts of the portfolio is an opportunity they feel is unique and can help to set the company apart. Source.
First proposed in June and recently signed by Governor Cuomo the 7 person task force will be focused on reviewing online lending activities in NY; the task force will be chosen by the governor, president of the senate and speaker of the assembly; they will report their findings on small business and consumer lending back to the governor. Source.
Cleaver stated, “If we fail to act on fintech, we are setting ourselves up for problems down the road. Not because the fintech folks are evil…but because we are behind the curve.”; Cleaver also discussed the importance of understanding what is going on in fintech so the proper safeguards can be put in place; he proposed that fintech companies should speak before the Financial Services Committee and that more meetings should be held. Source
GreenSky offers a unique type of point of sale financing and has just closed a $200 million round. Source
In a note circulated to clients equity research firm D.A. Davidson said Overstock.com is the clear leader in blockchain technology; "Our research increased our conviction that, today and likely in the near-term, Overstock stands head and shoulders above the others" analyst Tom Forte of D.A. Davidson said as reported by Business Insider; the company was the first retailer to accept bitcoin payments and as a result saw their stock rise 265 percent in the last 12 months. Source.
With tech companies being seen as the better destination for the millennial workforce banks are starting to look at new ways to attract younger talent; helping employees pay down student debt has become one way for banks, who might not offer the same salary range, to stay competitive; as banks look to become more digitally savvy enlisting programs like this can help to go a long way in attracting the new generation of talent. Source.
As banks look to reassess how to utilize their branch space, TearSheet took a close look at the Citizens Bank branch overhaul; the bank is looking to make the branch into digitally connected community centers; they are looking to reduce their branch footprint by 50 percent over the next decade and look to utilize the spaces they have better; less teller lines, more private meetings rooms and digital tools to help engage the different types of customers. Source.
An article in Tearsheet discusses how VCs are more interested in funding companies looking to improving legacy financial systems; Patricia Kemp, partner at Oak HC/FT responded to a comment about the prospects of consumer facing fintech in 2018 stating, “The largest category of successful fintech are the ones that are helping the banks get there.”; while there are still opportunities for new consumer solutions, it is just as important to innovate on back-end systems. Source
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Founders Fund has amasses hundreds of millions of dollars or bitcoin recently; the fund started with about $10mn to $15mn worth of bitcoin and has since seen that initial investment skyrocket; while many traditional wall street names have yet to buy into bitcoin the move by Mr. Thiel and his fund point to their confidence in the currency; during an interview in October Mr. Thiel was reported to say, “While I’m skeptical of most of them, I do think people are a little bit underestimating bitcoin, specifically, because it is like a reserve form of money.” Source.
In 2017 the CFPB saw a ton of regulation and a battle for the successor to former director Richard Cordray; this coming year could be even more tumultuous as acting director Mick Mulvaney looks to undo many of the regulations Cordray put in place and the ensuing court battle over who is the rightful director; recent rule like the arbitration rule have been reversed and they payday lending regulation could be next to go; with a number of regulations in need or more clarity or a court decision the next 12 months could prove crucial for the future of the agency. Source.