May 6, 2016 @ 2:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

A bit over five months after the event occurred, the Securities and Exchange Commission has published the final report on the Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. Each year at SEC HQ, the determined few gather at the SEC to discuss and debate how access… Read More

May 6, 2016 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Rating’s agency Moody’s has published a report that is critical of the marketplace lending sector. Pointing to the class action lawsuit filed in a US District Court against Lending Club (NYSE:LC) on April 6th, Moody’s states that owners of Asset-Backed Loans (ABS) face legal challenges… Read More

May 6, 2016 @ 8:33 am By JD Alois  |  

Rodrigo Niñ0, CEO of real estate crowdfunding platform Prodigy Network, recently spoke with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg’s “Trending Business” segment. Prodigy has raised over $370 million from their network of 6200 investors (as posted on the video below).  Nino, speaking from Singapore, explains they currently… Read More

May 6, 2016 @ 7:33 am By JD Alois  |  

CircleUp, an investment crowdfunding platform that targets early stage consumer product companies, has launched its second Marketplace Index Fund II.  The first Fund recently closed after raising $4.4 million.  There is a $25,000 minimum for investors. The concept of the fund is pretty simple. Participation… Read More

May 5, 2016 @ 3:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

  This past Tuesday (May 3rd), twenty members of Congress joined to ask the Secretary of the Treasury, Jack Lew, to tread lightly when it came to the emerging marketplace lending industry. The timing of bi-partisan missive is important as Treasury has announced it will… Read More

May 5, 2016 @ 9:37 am By JD Alois  |  

RateSetter has appointed Cyrille Sallé de Chou as its new Chief Risk Officer. Chou will be migrating over from Lloyds Banking Group where has been the Credit Risk Director of Mortgages. In that role, he was said to have overseen one of the largest loan… Read More

May 5, 2016 @ 8:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Israel is one of the hottest startup ecosystems in the world today. The small country has consistently punched above its weight class by turning out consecutive startup hits – many in the Fintech sector. The highly educated, risk-embracing Israelis have taken the title of Startup Nation…. Read More

May 5, 2016 @ 7:29 am By JD Alois  |  

UK-based investment crowdfunding platform VentureFounders, has appointed two new executives to aid with platform growth. According to VentureFounders, platform users grew by 105% in the first quarter of 2016 alone. VentureFounders saw more than £726,000 invested via their platform during Q1. VentureFounders announced that Vanessa… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 4:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

OneVest co-founder and Executive Chairman Alejandro Cremades has published an open letter criticizing the structure and requirements of Regulation CF under Title III of the JOBS Act.  Cremades notes that while the Act appeared promising back in 2012 when the final rules were announced his… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 3:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

In contrast to what we are hearing from some other online lending platforms, Lending Tree (NASDAQ:TREE) reported strong Q1 results this morning. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.76 topping the Capital IQ consensus number of $0.74/share.  The top line number was $94.7 versus… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 2:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury has announced its intent to release a white paper next week pertaining to their review of the marketplace lending industry (orginally labeled peer to peer lending). The document is expected to encapsulate the many comment letters submitted to Treasury following… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 12:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Online marketplace for asset-backed investments YieldStreet has raised $3.7 million in seed funding led by Expansion Venture Capital, Saturn Venture Partners, and other “strategic fintech angels.”  YieldStreet is operating under Title II of the JOBS Act that allows platforms to “generally solicit” their offers. According to… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 12:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month the US Department of Treasury, Division of Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN), announced a proposed rule change that will impact Reg CF crowdfunding portals. Now the concept of a crowdfunding portal is a new approach that was legalized under the JOBS Act… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Keen Home is doing it right. The company is the creator of a smart home air vent. Sexy it is not. Practical and money saving it is. Back in 2014, Keen started with a relatively small crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Keen co-founders Ryan Fant and… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 9:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfund Insider Senior Contributor Anthony Zeoli has received a nice recognition from his hometown. Zeoli, a partner at Freeborn & Peters law firm, was recently acknowledged as the Innovator of the Year Award from the Small Business Advocacy Council (SBAC) of Chicago.  Zeoli, as many people… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 9:06 am By JD Alois  |  

  Cloud Lending Solutions, a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that powers online credit/lending platforms, has signed a new agreement with Flexx – a nationwide provider of forklift rental and leasing programs. Cloud Lending Solutions CEO Snehal Fulzele released a statement on the transaction;… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 8:24 am By JD Alois  |  

Starting and creating a new business is a highly risky endeavor.  Yet these same small businesses are the ones that create the most jobs and drive economic growth. In brief, SMEs are imperative for society as a whole. The UK has supported an innovation-based economy… Read More

May 3, 2016 @ 11:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The “Memorandum of Cooperation on the Establishment and Implementation of the Asia Region Funds Passport”, has now been signed by Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan. Countries yet to sign include Thailand,Singapore and the Philippines. The “MOC” has been called “the most far-reaching multilateral… Read More

May 3, 2016 @ 11:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fincera (OTCQB: AUTCF), formerly a commercial vehicle leasing company that has now migrated into internet finance for SMEs in China, reported full year results for 2015.  According to the company release, the internet finance based portion of the company (launched in 2014) continues to grow rapidly…. Read More

May 3, 2016 @ 4:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted amendments to implement the JOBS Act and FAST Act Changes for Exchange Act Registration requirements. These amendments udpate rules regarding thresholds of registration and suspension of reporting under Section 12(g) of the 34 Act. These updates implement provisions… Read More