July 3, 2024 @ 8:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Atom bank, which claims to be the UK’s first app-based bank, announced this past week that it has appointed Gareth Jones as its new Chief Risk Officer “subject to regulatory approval. He replaces Chris Sparks, who is retiring after nine years at the bank.” Gareth… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Crowdfunding Network (EUROCROWD) is pleased to announce the election of its new non-executive board, a strategic move to consolidate our position as the industry’s representative body. The newly elected board brings together leading figures “from the crowdfunding and professional services sectors, reflecting the… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 10:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to an update shared by the Bank of England, risks to the UK financial system have remained broadly unchanged since Q1. However, some asset prices have continued to rise, and the risk of a sharp correction persists. The Bank of England pointed out that… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 10:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Rainforest, a payment provider purpose-built for software platforms, announced it has raised an oversubscribed $20 million Series A funding round led by Matrix Partners.” Additional participating investors “include Accel, Infinity Ventures, BoxGroup,  The Fintech Fund, Tech Square Ventures, Ardent Venture Partners – all of whom… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 8:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has reportedly permitted two new Fintech startups to test their innovative solutions in SAMA’s regulatory sandbox. As noted in the update from SAMA, “Sulfah for Finance” is authorized to launch a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform and “Wadaie for FinTech” to… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 8:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Nucleus Financial Platforms, one of the UK’s independent, adviser platform groups has announced the completion of the acquisition of Third Financial, following regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in May this year. Third Financial is an investment platform and front-to-back wealth management software… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 7:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) has commented on the current economic environment pertaining to smaller firms. Following the recent Presidential debate in Atlanta, the SBE Council noted that small businesses received little attention from either President Jo Biden or prior President Donald… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 7:06 pm By Andrew Corn  |  

The ecosystem for capital-raising for commercial real estate is slowly embracing something new: the ability to raise significant capital directly from retail investors and blending it with capital from family offices, and other smaller institutions. We’re in a new age of capital raising for the… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 6:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) study released today found that consumer affordability challenges and tighter lending restraints are impacting new vehicle originations across the auto industry. The study, Originating Auto Loans With Confidence, “explored trends in auto originations, consumer savings, debt burdens and credit scores in… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 6:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) has agreed to acquire Preqin, an independent provider of private markets data for £2.55 billion or approximately $3.2 billion in cash. Bringing together Preqin’s data and research tools “with Aladdin’s complementary workflow capabilities in a unified platform will create a preeminent… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 6:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Acuity Knowledge Partners, a provider of high-value research, analytics and business intelligence solutions to the financial services sector, today announced the acquisition of PPA Group (PPA). PPA is a technology-enabled service provider “to financial institutions in Germany and Switzerland, providing services focused on bespoke structuring… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 1:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital lender Assetz Capital has shared information on two transactions. Assetz Capital is an online lender supporting the property development sector. According to the company, one transaction included a £5 million commercial mortgage to refinance an ibis Styles hotel at Waterloo Street in Glasgow, owned… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 12:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ahead of Thursday’s general election, UK’s PensionBee shares its recommendations for potential changes to the pension landscape under a new government. Commitment to ‘pot for life’ Becky O’Connor, Director of Public Affairs at PensionBee, commented: “Although not directly mentioned in the Labor or Conservative manifestos,… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 12:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paxos, the regulated blockchain & tokenization infrastructure platform, received full approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for its Singapore entity, Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd. to “offer digital payment token services as a Major Payments Institution.” The approval enables Paxos to “issue stablecoins… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 12:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Circle, a global financial technology firm and the issuer of USDC and EURC, has announced that it has become the “first” global stablecoin issuer to achieve compliance with the European Union‘s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. This achievement was reportedly enabled “by the company’s… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 9:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Lemonade (NYSE: LMND), the digital insurance company powered by AI and social impact, announced that its reinsurance program is being renewed. It was reportedly led by the same tier-one carriers “as the expiring treaty and was oversubscribed on all dimensions.” The core of the program… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 9:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Investment platform Robo.cash reporting steady activity for the month of June. In a blog post, Robocash release the latest figures for the online investing platform. For the month of June 2024, Robocash reports over €20 million invested, more than 240 new investors joining the platform,… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 9:03 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On 1 July 2024, Clearstream introduced a direct link to South Korea with the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). This innovative link is expected to provide clients “with seamless market access to settle and safe keep Korean government bonds, including Korean Treasury Bonds (KTBs) and Monetary… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 8:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) has revealed the acquisition of Pluto Capital Inc., described as an artificial intelligence (AI) powered investment research platform that delivers “highly-customized” investment strategies based on customer needs and financial goals. With this strategic acquisition, investors may anticipate “a new era of intelligent, data-driven… Read More

July 2, 2024 @ 8:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Revolut has released its Annual Report for the year ending 31 December 2023. Nik Storonsky, CEO of Revolut, said: “This year, we took our biggest steps yet on our mission to deliver the best product and the best customer experience at great value to customers,… Read More