MoneyLion has raised $22.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Edison Partners; the company will use the funds to improve and expand its mobile application services; the mobile application currently provides customers with tools and advice for managing their finances; it also provides loans. Source
Lemonade has raised $34 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst; the Series B round brings the total funding to $60 million; the company plans to use the funding for state expansion with California as its next target. Source
LendingUSA has hired Manoj Mathew as its new chief technology officer; the firm provides point of sale financing solutions for merchants; Manoj Mathew will be joining LendingUSA from LendFoundry where he was co-founder and chief technology officer; brings in-depth experience in credit financing technology and will support the firm in advancing financing solutions. Source
Kroll Bond Rating Agency has assigned preliminary ratings to a LendingClub securitization portfolio; the loan securitization, LendingClub Issuance Trust, Series 2016-NP2 (LCIT 2016-NP2), is valued at $101.75 million and includes two classes of notes with LendingClub consumer loans; the class A tranche which accounts for 84% of the deal at $85.3 million, is rated BBB; the class B tranche accounts for 16% at $16.4 million and is rated BB+. Source
Tuesday's 3.2% GDP growth rate report is an indication of expanding economic growth in the US which increases the probability of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve in December; a continued positive trend in economic growth is also likely to lead to five interest rate increases through 2018; consumer spending appears to be the leading catalyst for current economic growth and the source cautions that it could lead to problems for the marketplace lending credit market; consumer spending has been driven by increased credit balances but as rates rise, risks from these borrowers are also likely to increase which could affect platform defaults and securitization portfolios with the greatest risks in unsecured loans. Source
In September, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry discussed his proposal for fintech regulation which he said would likely include a fintech charter; on Friday, Thomas Curry is expected to announce his plans for the fintech charter; potential provisions to be included with the fintech charter announcement include receivership powers which would provide support from the government if capital funding fails. Source
Calypso, a fintech firm that develops software for capital markets, has struck a deal with blockchain consortium R3 to develop applications on its Corda platform; Corda is a distributed ledger platform for managing financial contracts which will be released later this week; Calypso will first build a trade confirmation app to function on Corda; according to Calypso CEO Pascal Xatart, "Our current matching solution is only the beginning." Source
eOriginal has added Ron Suber, Prosper Marketplace president, to its advisory board; the digital transaction document management company has been steadily expanding its business in the marketplace lending market; Ron Suber will help support the company's growth as an advocate for its unique digital documentation products also advising the company on the marketplace lending market overall; eOriginal is currently growing and expanding, also adding Jon Barlow, founder and former CEO of Eaglewood Capital Management, to its advisory board and raising $26.5 million in a recent funding round. Source
LendingRobot has filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating its plans for a pooled investment fund; the investing platform currently provides investment accounts that allow customers to invest in marketplace loans from direct lenders through the platform; the new fund provides a pooled fund investment option for investors; the minimum investment is $100,000. Source
First Trust has filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a pooled fund that will include marketplace lending securities under the name First Trust Marketplace Lending Partners, L.P.; minimum investment in the fund is $50,000; firm offers a range of investment funds including many funds with an income focused investment strategy. Source