Opinion

February 14, 2016 @ 1:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

In an Q&A session with Steven Bochner of the Securities Regulation Insitute, SEC Mary Jo White shared some insight into the rule-making process surrounding the JOBS Act and the various investment crowdfunding regulations enacted by the SEC. In listing the agencies accomplishments under her guidance,… Read More

February 13, 2016 @ 7:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Independent research firm Autonomous has published a report on “Digital Lending” that estimates that online lending has an addressable market in the US and Europe of $2 trillion dollars.  This outsized opportunity (that others have estimated at being far larger) is married with many opportunities… Read More

February 13, 2016 @ 6:36 pm By Oscar Jofre  |  

I find myself to be a very fortunate person.  I was given the opportunity to be at the worlds largest sector events in mining, oil, gas, crowdfunding, and technology.  It has me thinking about evolution, how industries talk about themselves, to the public, and to… Read More

February 13, 2016 @ 3:53 pm By Therese Torris  |  

The FinovateEurope conference closed its doors on February 10th in London after two days packed with company pitches, demos, and networking. It was the biggest FinovateEurope since Finovate launched its first London event in 2010. Some 72 FinTech companies submitted their product and service innovations… Read More

February 12, 2016 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

In a recent PIPEs report from The Deal, the observation was made the Regulation A+, an updated exemption under Title IV of the JOBS Act, is picking up steam.  So far over 70 companies have filed a Form 1-A with the SEC and, according to the… Read More

February 10, 2016 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

In an interview today on BBC, Lord Adair Turner, former Chair of the FSA (predecessor to the FCA), shared his opinion on banking and the financial industry in general, including a discussion on the burgeoning peer to peer lending sector.  Lord Turner, it appears, is… Read More

February 9, 2016 @ 6:06 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Switzerland’s potential as a European fintech hub is being damaged by lack of Government and bank support and a shortage of investment capital, according to a new report by Ernst & Young and Swiss Finance + Technology Association. Despite the advantages incurred by the country’s skilled… Read More

February 8, 2016 @ 10:33 am By Therese Torris  |  

Real estate crowdfunding started late in 2014 in France. But, hardly a year later, it is going strong with 26 platforms vying for a share of the market. However, as crowdfunding moves from real estate development to buy-to-let projects, new platforms are encountering some resistance… Read More

February 8, 2016 @ 9:07 am By JD Alois  |  

Rebus, a company that raised over £816,790 on Crowdcube in 2015, has gone into administration making it one of the largest equity crowdfunding failures in the UK to date.  According to data provided by Crowdcube, the company sold a 6.63% stake in the firm to 109… Read More

February 6, 2016 @ 12:55 pm By Catherine Pargeter, Analytics Manager, Orchard Platform  |  

After our show stopping success last year in using data on borrowers to predict the Super Bowl winner, we decided to for a second year of success, even if the Patriots did not.  Using the loan data from Lending Club over 2010-2015, we compared borrowers… Read More

February 5, 2016 @ 7:26 am By Oscar Jofre  |  

Travelling around the world gives you great perspective on many things.  From the people, culture, food, and market, to how everyone has their own way of getting things done. I spent the tail end of 2015 in airports and on airplanes travelling around the world… Read More

February 3, 2016 @ 2:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

In the UK, similar to other parts of the world, SMEs are the engine of economic growth and associated job and wealth creation.  According to the Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses (FSB); Small businesses account for 99.3% of all private sector businesses at the… Read More

February 2, 2016 @ 9:20 am By JD Alois  |  

The House of Representatives started February of 2016 on a high note this year, leading with several bi-partisan pro-business bills that received little opposition on the floor.  The House Financial Services Committee which forwarded the legislation released a statement calling the bills a “win” for… Read More

February 1, 2016 @ 9:30 pm By Samuel Guzik  |  

For those of you who have followed my articles on Crowdfund Insider over the past two years, you know that I have not been shy about voicing my concerns over the foot dragging that too often has often characterized the attitude of the Securities and… Read More

February 1, 2016 @ 10:17 am By Georgia Quinn  |  

Last week both the SEC and FINRA finalized the rules for funding portals to offer securities under Title III of the JOBS Act of 2012.  The journey to get to this place has been long and at times challenging as regulators and industry participants debated… Read More

January 29, 2016 @ 6:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

UK research firm Beauhurst has compiled some interesting data regarding the success, or failure rate, of issuers raising capital via equity crowdfunding. The UK is the most developed country in the world when it comes to raising capital online.  But the real results will inevitably… Read More

January 29, 2016 @ 2:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

  SoFi is one of the fastest growing marketplace lending platforms in the United States. The direct lender started by providing student loan services to well-educated young professionals. These borrowers were typically ignored by banks as the monolithic banking model and its antiquated process denied reality… Read More

January 28, 2016 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

  As marketplace lending grows and matures it is natural, even expected, for policy makers and regulators to stand up and take notice. While in the overall world of finance direct online lenders are still relatively small, more and more frequently amounts are measured in… Read More

January 27, 2016 @ 8:07 pm By Oscar Jofre  |  

All too often the responsibility of a company raising capital is left in the hands of a few people in the company and that weighs on them and affects everyone.  The majority of the team is left out of the process, carrying on day to… Read More

January 27, 2016 @ 2:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Investor Advisory Committee met last week in Washington, DC. The periodic meeting was opened by Chair White who mentioned Title III retail crowdfunding specifically; “Regulation Crowdfunding becomes effective in May and funding portals can begin to register with the Commission later this month. … Read More