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Change at the Top: Paul Deitch of Oaktree Capital Steps in as CEO of Patch of Land

    Over the past several months there have been rumblings about impending change at real estate crowdfunding platform Patch of Land.  Following a significant staff reduction, where several well known Patch of Land employees were let go, industry chatter picked up as to what… Read More

What Will Define The Future of Crowdfunding? – An Interview with Danae Ringelmann

    What defines crowdfunding now – and in the future? Danae Ringelmann commenced a quest to redefine and redesign funding with an entrepreneurial journey that began in 2001. She has been a driving force behind the team that co-founded and launched the first of the… Read More

The Fix Crowdfunding Act is Mostly About Investor Protection

  Last week the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, part of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, debated several important bills that may boost access to capital for SMEs.  One of the bills, the Fix Crowdfunding Act (HR 4855), has the profound potential to turn… Read More

What the First Consolidation Among French Lending Marketplaces, Lendix’s Acquisition of Finsquare, Tells Us

Lendix, the lending marketplace that recently become number 1 in SME marketplace lending in France, announced that it has acquired crowdlending platform Finsquare. This first instance of consolidation in the French market certainly is not the last. This acquisition illustrates four trends and issues in… Read More

Big Things Predicted for Small Change Real Estate Crowdfunding Platform

  Small Change is a real estate crowdfunding platform with big ambitions. Launched by urban evangelist Eve Picker, the Pittsburgh-based operation seeks to fund “transformational” real estate projects by connecting developers with investors.  Individual investors gain entry into an asset class that is otherwise difficult… Read More

Canaan Partners on Marketplace Lending: Capital Diversification is the Answer

    The marketplace lending industry has gone from 0 to 100 in just a few short years. While it seems like only yesterday when Zopa launched in the UK capturing the title of the first P2P lender, platforms now number in the thousands and… Read More

Finsquare Acquired by SME Marketplace Lender Lendix

Marketplace lender Lendix has acquired short term loan specialist Finsquare. Lendix, the largest marketplace lending platform in France, said that Finsquare’s product addressed a “real demand for lenders and borrowers alike.”  The acquisition was viewed as highly complementary to the Lendix platform – an online lender… Read More

Crowdfunding is Crowdfunding to a Crowd: But Any Other Name Would Work As Well

Exploring the dynamics of equity crowdfunding and provoking thought about what crowdfunding means to you.  Crowdfunding has always existed, and will continue to exist, as long as there are people and scarcity of resources. People have pooled and transferred resources for the benefit of another,… Read More

Three US Senators Ask the GAO to Research Fintech & Peer to Peer Lending

In a letter addressed to the General Accounting Office (GAO), signed by Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley, Sherrod Brown, and Jeanne Shaheen, a request was made to research and make recommendations regarding Fintech and Peer to Peer / Marketplace Lending. The letter, dated April 18, 2016,… Read More

#LenditUSA Bigger than Ever as Online Lending Begins to Mature

  LenditUSA 2016 was bigger than ever. If you look back just three years the venue and the organizers have scaled what was once a relatively small gathering of 375 industry participants in 2013 to one that is truly a global event with over 3,500… Read More

To Boost Entrepreneurship, SMEs Need Better Access to Capital

This past week during a hearing at the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Raymond Keating of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) delivered prepared remarks to the Representatives in attendance. The title of the hearing was the JOBS Act at Four: Examining Its… Read More

Jobs Act in 2016: House Subcommittee on Capital Markets Discusses Proposals to Aid SMEs

  The Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, part of the House Financial Services Committee, reviewed several proposed acts of legislation crafted to help smaller business and grow the economy today (April 14).  Chaired by Congressman Scott Garrett, the hearing was labeled “The… Read More

Busted for Crowdfunding? It’s Rehab Time on Capitol Hill This Week!

  In my last article on Crowdfund Insider, entitled: “JOBS Act Crowdfunding Begins on May 16, 2016: Don’t Get Busted for Solicitation!,” I warned of one of the hidden dangers for companies embarking on a Title III equity crowdfunding campaign – which goes live on… Read More

Whole Banking – Organic or Conventional?

  If you walk into any Whole Foods Market, you’ll see a stunning variety of produce — fruits and vegetables, meats and fish, bread and cheese — meticulously arranged, designed to inspire your appetite with their bounty. Look closely, and you’ll notice that some of… Read More

Research: Americas Alternative Finance Jumps to Over $36 Billion in 2015

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, along with their project partners the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, KPMG and the CME Group Foundation, have published their much anticipated report on alternative forms of finance for the Americas.  The newest… Read More

Reserve Bank of India Expected to Post P2P Lending Regulatory Concept Paper End of this Month

In the first bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2016-17 Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan,  Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, stated that a conceptual document will be posted on their website by the end of the month.  According to the statement from last week; Peer to Peer… Read More

View from Above: Cloud Lending CEO Sees Banks Embracing Fintech, Marketplace Lending

  As lending and other banking services migrate to online services rather than brick and mortar locations, startups and established financial service companies alike are seeking help in making the transition to internet finance.  Cloud Lending is one of the companies aiding in this transition… Read More

Report: SEC Has Received 30 Applications for Title III Crowdfunding Portals

Title III crowdfunding will join the other two variants of investment crowdfunding, Title II and Title IV (Reg A+) this coming May to create a more vibrant capital ladder for companies seeking to raise capital using the internet. While no exemption is perfect, both accredited… Read More

Title III Crowdfunding Fix: House Financial Services Committee Schedules Hearing to Build on JOBS Act Success

The House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Representative Hensarling, has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, April 14, at 10AM, for a Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee gathering to examine four different legislative proposals designed to improve and promote capital formation.  The Committee has… Read More

JOBS Act Exemptions are Expensive & Burdensome but Loopholes Exist

It would be an exaggeration to say that the SEC purposely sabotaged the Jobs Act, a rare bipartisan law adopted by Congress in 2012 in light of an almost 10% unemployment rate.  It would be more accurate to say that the SEC, purportedly in the… Read More

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