Uncategorized

January 17, 2017 @ 12:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Financial Innovation Now (FIN) has sent a letter to the Office of the Comptroller (OCC) of the Currency in support of the OCC’s initiative to support Fintech innovation. FIN is an alliance of big tech including; Apple, Amazon, PayPal, Intuit and Google (Alphabet). As big… Read More

December 22, 2016 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Insurtech firm Lemonade launched in September as a “full stack insurance carrier” in the state of New York. Today, Lemonade is preparing to offer insurance to 97% of US citizens by filing for licenses in 46 states and the District of Columbia to offer homeowners/renters insurance…. Read More

December 21, 2016 @ 11:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is an important aspect of investor protection in the UK.  Similar in function to the US FDIC, certain financial accounts are insured by the government against financial loss. During the past two years, the FSCS paid out £271 million… Read More

December 13, 2016 @ 6:31 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Gurugram, India-based platform for enabling debt-financing for small businesses Indifi has raised $10 Mn in a Series B funding round led by Omidyar Network. Existing investors Accel Partners and Elevar Equity also participated in the round. Indifi Technologies, while maintaining its focus on MSME businesses, intends to direct the investments toward… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 10:53 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Economic migrants rely on remittances to ensure that their families are well off at home and to maintain ties to their home countries.  Fees imposed by big banks and traditional remittance institutions eat into foreign workers’ hard-earned incomes, however, so startups focused on money transfers… Read More

December 3, 2016 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

This may be a case of too much of a good thing. The FT is reporting that Zopa has put a halt to retail investors lending money on their peer to peer lending platform. Allegedly, yield hungry investors are “flooding” the market hunting for better… Read More

December 1, 2016 @ 10:02 am By Erin Hobey  |  

TWINO Group, a European consumer lender which has been operating since 2009 with its P2P lending platform launching in 2015, provides unsecured consumer loans for private individuals in ten countries, including Poland, Russia and Georgia, with an intention to move into Mexico. TWINO’s P2P lending platform offers… Read More

November 18, 2016 @ 3:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) has set the date of its next meeting.  IAC will be meeting at SEC HQ on Thursday, December 8, 2016 from 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. (ET). The meeting is open to the public and will be Live-streamed on the… Read More

November 15, 2016 @ 8:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Outgoing SEC Chair Mary Jo White will be testifying today (November 15, 2016) before the House Financial Services Committee. White announced her intent to depart the Commission at the end of the Obama’s administration yesterday (November 14th).  The somewhat routine hearing is entitled; “Examining the… Read More

October 17, 2016 @ 3:19 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Adam Felesky and Paul Desmarais III today announced the closing of a new fund, Portag3 Ventures (“Portag3”), focused on the fintech sector. Felesky, a co-founder and former CEO of Horizons ETFs, has been named President and will run day-to-day operations at the fund. Paul Desmarais III,… Read More

October 13, 2016 @ 5:11 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Greater Hudson Bank (OTCQX: GHDS) has partnered with Sageworks, a financial information company that provides lending, credit risk and portfolio risk solutions to banks and credit unions, to provide an online loan application allowing commercial borrowers to complete applications electronically, according to a release. The Sageworks Online Loan Application is… Read More

October 11, 2016 @ 12:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer and Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been labeled “unconstitutional” by a federal appeals court.  The ruling addressed specifically the agency’s structure and the amount of control exercised by its director – currently Richard Cordray.  The ruling allows for the CFPB to continue to… Read More

October 5, 2016 @ 4:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to multiple reports, Prosper is shutting down secondary trading for it’s loans eliminating a liquidity path for retail investors. The justification was stated as lack of demand. Bloomberg reported that Sarah Cain, a Prosper spokesperson, explained the decision as one driven by utilization; “While… Read More

October 4, 2016 @ 5:34 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Auckland-based celebrity chef Robert Oliver launched a PledgeMe campaign to equity crowdfund his Pacific-styled fine dining restaurant in Auckland. KP Auckland Limited is seeking to raise between $450,000 and $600,000 which represents 42.9%–50% of the company. Shares are $1 each with a minimum investment of $500…. Read More

September 15, 2016 @ 8:34 am By Erin Hobey  |  

In just a few days since launching, the UK independent film produced by ItchyFishFilm has secured over £342,000 toward its £640,000 goal to support production for the film. £305,000 has been fronted by the film’s lead investor group Ken Anderson, Chairman of Bolton Wanderers FC; ItchyFishFilm will seek… Read More

September 13, 2016 @ 5:17 am By Erin Hobey  |  

British Business Bank Investments Ltd, the commercial arm of the British Business Bank, today announced an £18M investment in Blackburn and Manchester-based Praetura Asset Finance. The investment, comprising £15M of matched funding and an additional £3m of expansion capital, will support at least £36M of smaller… Read More

September 9, 2016 @ 6:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

“It is hardly possible to overrate the value…of placing human beings in contact with persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and action unlike those with which they are familiar…such communication has always been…one of the primary sources of progress.” –John Stuart Mill… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 12:21 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Fundation has secured $100 million credit from Goldman Sachs, reported the WSJ. The cash flow will enable the “credit solutions provider” to expand recent partnerships with traditional banks, such as Regions Financial Corp. and a network of community banks, and to extend loans to the banks’ business customers.  Paying a… Read More

August 11, 2016 @ 10:38 am By Erin Hobey  |  

India-based P2P lending platform Faircent has raised $1.5 million from Brand Capital, the investment arm of the media conglomerate Bennett Coleman and Co, according to The Economic Times. “The investment proves and strengthens our brand conviction towards disrupting credit in India,”  Faircent CEO Rajat Gandhi told the Economic Times. “Our… Read More

July 13, 2016 @ 2:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

At a Congressional hearing yesterday on Marketplace Lending that was described as being “educational”, Rob Nichols, of the American Bankers Association,  presented testimony and answered questions along with several other individuals engaged in finance. While the topic was  ostensibly “Fintech”, a better label may have… Read More