Building on the success of the LendingRobot Series Fund announced in January 2017, LendingRobot has launched LendingRobot Professional; the product has new advisor-focused features and functionality and can be optimized by advisors for multiple clients; it has an advisor minimum of $250,000. Source
Individual investors have now invested $100 million of the company's $1 billion funded; the investments have been growing at a fast pace with the platform launching in January 2016 and doubling its $50 million investment level from mid-October of 2016; LendingHome markets returns of 8.75% and requires a $50,000 opening balance with a minimum investment of $5,000; at the LendIt USA 2017 event the firm received the 2017 Top Real Estate Platform award. Source
Small business lender Kabbage has announced a new milestone with total lending originations of over $3 billion; firm has provided loans for over 100,000 small businesses; helping to reach the new high, the firm provided 20,000 loans in March and reports $1 billion in funding serviced in less than a year. Source
The smart contracts will help facilitate faster commerce agreements and transactions; Arizona is the first state to pass legislation on blockchain smart contracts; it encompasses various uses for blockchain smart contracts including data, electronic signatures and electronic records transmitted and tracked through blockchain operations, making the use of blockchain transactions comparable to previous methods of communication and documentation. Source
Lantern Credit has appointed John Mack as its new chairman of its board of advisors; the company works to provide credit solutions for inefficiencies through its technology platform; Mack brings experience from roles as chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, co-CEO of Credit Suisse Group, CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston and various other roles on corporate boards including Lending Club. Source
S&P Global Market Intelligence has released data on fourth quarter and 2016 originations for 13 major online lenders; the final quarter of 2016 showed a decrease in loan originations consistent with challenges for the industry in the second half of the year; in the fourth quarter total loan originations were down 15% however loan originations for the year still reported a 15% increase. Source
Lend Academy's Peter Renton provides insight on his marketplace lending investment strategies for Lending Club and Prosper loans; outlines the options available for investing and highlights best performing loan grades; reports details of loan filters he is using across his eight accounts. Source
Cross River Bank has issued a media alert detailing involvement in a true lender court case with the state of Colorado; the bank has filed a declaratory judgment action against the state of Colorado to protect its rights to extend credit and freely sell loans nationwide; the declaratory judgment action follows a previous court filing in January 2017 by the Colorado Attorney General suing Marlette Funding for issues with its lending process which involves loans made by Cross River Bank and sold to Marlette. Source
Amazon will now allow customers to add cash to their Amazon accounts through barcode scans at participating retailers throughout the US; funds will be immediately available for use; the firm says the initiative is expected to target underbanked customers; Morgan Stanley says the announcement could decrease the chances of the firm partnering with PayPal for payments which is a deal the market has been potentially anticipating between the two companies. Source
Consumer demographics are changing with more volatile income, and less interest and access to traditional banking products; LendUp has been working to provide a broader array of solutions for an underserved demographic of consumers and the fintech company has reported a number of successes; it has originated over $1 billion from more than 3.3 million loans; success for the company has come from offering innovative and diverse solutions paired with educational support; examples include graduated credit products that help customers migrate from a $250 emergency loan to a $1,000 installment loan to a $300-$500 low-balance credit card; the firm has integrated initiatives that improve credit availability for on time payments and credit management classes, also reporting $55 million in savings for customers. Source