June 29, 2016 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Lending Club (NYSE:LC) held its annual shareholder meeting yesterday making several announcements including the appointment of Scott Sanborn as CEO, making his position permanent instead of temporary. The largest marketplace lending platform in the US explained to shareholders that many investors paused in May but… Read More

June 28, 2016 @ 10:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ferratum has launched peer-to-peer lending in the Czech Republic – Attractive opportunity for investors to participate in credit portfolios Ferratum, a mobile consumer loan and small business lender, has launched its new peer-to-peer lending platform FerratumP2P. Ferratum announced in 2015 it had selected Mambu to power… Read More

June 28, 2016 @ 1:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

UK business Secretary Sajid Javid held a business roundtable today with various business leaders to gauge and calm the sentiment for the economy in light of the recent Brexit decision. Javid stated the fundamental facts remain unchanged; “The UK is still a member of the… Read More

June 28, 2016 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Bizfi has received a $20 million investment from Metropolitan Equity Partners.  Details on the exact structure of the investment was not provided.  The investment by Metropolitan is an increase from the $65 million committed by the company this past December. Bizfi is an aggregation platform… Read More

June 28, 2016 @ 9:13 am By JD Alois  |  

The Wheelys Café campaign launched on FundedByMe on Monday, June 27th, has confirmed more than €350,000 from 78 investors in the first 18 hours. This is according to information provided by FundedByme. Wheelys Inc is a Swedish Y Combinator startup operating “hi-tech organic bike cafés in 50 countries.”… Read More

June 28, 2016 @ 7:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Lending Club (NYSE:LC) will be holding its annual meeting today.  Originally the meeting was scheduled for June 7th, the annual meeting was rescheduled for today (June 28, 2016) as it was not yet in a position to provide its shareholders a complete report on the… Read More

June 28, 2016 @ 7:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Scott Sanborn, previously named “Temporary” Chief Executive Officer of Lending Club (NYSE:LC), may now remove the temporary portion of his title.  Sanborn is now the CEO of Lending Club following a decision by the Board of Directors.  The Board has tasked Sanborn with transforming the… Read More

June 28, 2016 @ 1:00 am By JD Alois  |  

  Inaugural Middle East & Africa Alternative Finance Benchmarking Study. The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School is launching its first Middle East & Africa Alternative Finance Benchmarking Study. This study on alternative finance follows the successful publication of… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 9:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Reactions to the Supreme Court decision declining to review the Second Circuit court decision regarding Madden vs. Midland are starting to crop up. The case is one that is being widely watched by the marketplace and online lending industry. Vincent Basulto, a partner at Richards… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 7:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments that would increase the financial thresholds in the “smaller reporting company” definition. The proposal is in recognition of the fact that smaller firms are not as well-equipped and financed to endure the costly reporting requirements. “Raising the… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 12:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

SunDown, a regional entrepreneur ecosystem based in Ohio, has created an investment club on Wefunder.  In a note to followers SunDown stated they were into the equity crowdfunding game to help invsetors “de-risk” their participation. SunDown stated; “The new equity crowdfunding rules and platforms are going… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 11:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The ongoing saga of Madden vs. Midland just took another twist as the US Supreme Court has decided not to review the Second Circuit court decision on usury laws.  This is according to a report in Law360 today.  The decision was described as a “blow… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Research consultancy Forrester is making some pretty dire predictions regarding Brexit collateral damage. In a blog post this weekend, Forrester stated; “Digital and customer-facing talent will migrate out of the UK,” and “Product and delivery innovation will slow”. Forrester cautions that a “customer-focused agenda is… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 9:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Kuber Ventures, an investment firm that targets EIS/SEIS opportunities, has released a statement on the Brexit fallout. While global markets react to the intrinsic risk associated with the Brexit decision, Kuber sees a silver lining. According to Kuber; “The vote on Friday for the UK… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 8:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunder (US) announced this past spring its intent to launch a diversified VC fund for early stage companies. Crowdfunder stated at that time; “The Fund invests $100,000 into startups backed by top VCs at their same terms. Once the Fund invests in a startup, our online… Read More

June 27, 2016 @ 7:41 am By JD Alois  |  

Commercial mortgage marketplace lender LendInvest saw its ARC Ratings affirmed receiving a Limited SQ1 Servicer Quality rating, with stable outlook. Revealed last Friday, ARC stated; “LendInvest, the mortgage marketplace lender, was previously accorded a public SQ1 Servicer Quality rating on 23rd June 2015. Over the past… Read More

June 26, 2016 @ 11:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fundnel, a collaborative crowdfunding investment platform based in Singapore, has formed a partnership with the Business Angel Network Southeast Asia (BANSEA), to pool resources and boost deal flow.  BANSEA ONE, backed by BANSEA and Fundnel, will become a key investor in early stage companies in… Read More

June 26, 2016 @ 10:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month Chinese search engine Baidu announced it would now require crowdfunding platforms to adhere to a strict set of qualifications designed to limit promotion from less reputable platforms. Baidu stated it would no longer open new accounts for crowdfunding platforms to access their… Read More

June 26, 2016 @ 4:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of Fintech innovation. While there are many reasons for the UK playing a lead role in new forms of finance several variables may be distilled from the list. First, the country is very supportive of an entrepreneurial/market-based… Read More

June 26, 2016 @ 3:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

In February of 2014, Munich-based Bragi Dash launched their rewards crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The concept was to create “smart” wireless headphones that combined a full set of features and technology currently unavailable in the retail market. The vision of founder Nikolaj Hviid, formerly Head… Read More