Opinion

August 26, 2016 @ 3:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for President of the United States, released a “Factsheet” on small business.  Interestingly it contained a good bit of affirmation that she will not turn her back on small business recognizing SMEs are the lifeblood of the… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 3:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Publishing on the pages of American Banker, Todd Baker has written off the entire industry of marketplace lending. Baker states, “it should be obvious now that marketplace lending is unsustainable.” A pretty strong statement for a sector of alternative finance that has, until recently, experienced… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 12:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Apple, Google, Amazon, PayPal & Intuit Provide the Firepower Behind Fintech Advocacy Group Financial Innovation Now. Back in the fall of 2015, an announcement was made regarding the creation of a new public policy coalition representing some of the largest names in tech: Apple, Google,… Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 9:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Peter Renton, founder of LendIt and online lending industry advocate, has take to the pages of Lend Academy to defend Lending Club (NYSE:LC) following a critical article by BloombergBusinessweek. The Bloomberg article, co-authored by Max Chafkin and Noah Buhayar, hammered Lending Club by questioning the… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 4:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Before founding Kabbage, Rob Frohwein established, led and advised a number of successful businesses, including LAVA Group, U.S. Micro Corporation and Surgical Biologics. Additionally, he served in business development and legal capacities for ZapMedia and Security First Network Bank. The Villanova law and undergrad alum… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade & Industry, made the statement; “FinTech is … a critical differentiator for Singapore to remain a leading financial hub in the region. Our finance and insurance sector has been a key growth contributor in recent years, and the… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 12:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

An article in WSJ.com today states the “regulatory advantage may be fleeting” for online lenders. The author pointed to an initiative by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that may add new rules for banks working with online lenders that could add cost to these… Read More

August 20, 2016 @ 7:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The case of the Ascenergy crowdfunding fraud came to light just as Reg CF or Title III crowdfunding rules were announced to the public in October of 2015.   Ascenergy, an aspiring oil and gas operation, had raised about $5 million from approximately 90 investors,… Read More

August 19, 2016 @ 2:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

  A few weeks back Crowdfund Insider published an article on the regulatory environment in Canada that labeled new crowdfunding securities exemptions as “Dead in the Water“.  In brief, regulators in multiple provinces have enacted rules that were ostensibly created to foster entrepreneurship and access… Read More

August 18, 2016 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Under Reg D more than a trillion dollars is raised each year for companies that are not publicly traded. This market is huge – far larger than the annual rate of IPOs. Yet these private placements are only available to “accredited investors”: Individuals who earn… Read More

August 16, 2016 @ 5:17 pm By Amy Wan & Darren Marble  |  

I read an article in WIRED the other day about the LaFerrari, the world’s most coveted supercar, and one particular sentence stuck out. As writer Jordan Golson plainly stated, “When it comes to this car, you don’t choose Ferrari. Ferrari chooses you.” Well, ladies and… Read More

August 15, 2016 @ 10:33 am By JD Alois  |  

In November of 2015, a group of well-known tech names banded together to create a new lobbying entity to lobby Capitol Hill on Fintech and financial regulations. Financial Innovation Now is a unique alliance of Apple, Google, Amazon, Intuit and Paypal joining in one specific… Read More

August 12, 2016 @ 1:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

  In 2015 Banks participated in under 10% of reported Fintech venture deals. The total investment was around $5 billion for the banking industry. But they spent $50 billion updating legacy tech and fixing already installed applications as they struggled to keep up with the… Read More

August 11, 2016 @ 4:23 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Exciting news, Mondo investors! The Crowdcube #FundedClub member announced it has officially become a licensed bank and is now regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. The Mondo team shared details about its launch, which can be found below. “We started Mondo… Read More

August 9, 2016 @ 10:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Chief Executive Andrew Bailey gave a Parliament Treasury Committee a crash course on Crowdfunding 101 this past June.  The letter by Bailey was recently posted on the Treasury Committee website, along with a statement from Andrew Tyrie MP, Chairman of the Committee,… Read More

August 8, 2016 @ 12:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Orchard Marketplace is a platform that is uniquely positioned at the intersection of institutional money and online lending. If you are a large investor you are using Orchard to manage and access loans on all marketplace lending platforms. This perspective means that Orchard can easily… Read More

August 4, 2016 @ 8:15 am By JD Alois  |  

  The Bank of England (BoE) has cut its benchmark rate by 0.25% – the first time in 7 years. The pound quickly moved lower reacting to the announcement. The move was telegraphed several weeks back in reaction to Brexit fallout. The interest rate cut… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 11:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Dan Miller, co-founder of Fundrise and founder of Myrtle Grove Ventures, has released a statement saying, “online finance and equity crowdfunding, in particular, will see significant and international growth over the next 10 to 20 years.” Miller highlights Title III of the JOBS Act, also… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 12:45 pm By Dave Van Niekerk  |  

We’ve heard the sensationalism before – That the unbridled array of opportunities in Africa are either being “squandered”, “exploited” or just now seeping to the surface for globalization to capitalize on the ‘Rising Continent’ in a timely fashion. Though rhetoric, it’s no doubt significant, though that… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

China is the largest Fintech market in the world. This is due in part to the fact that China has a population that is north of 1.3 billion and economically is first in GDP (PPP) at over $20 trillion. But it is also due to… Read More