Business Insider reports on the UK Treasury's first International Fintech event; the UK's Chancellor Hammond is scheduled to speak about growing and strengthening fintech amid the challenges presented by Brexit; the CEOs of Funding Circle and TransferWise will also be speaking at the event. Source
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a discussion paper on blockchain that looked to better understand the new technology and how it can be used in financial services; key takeaways from the paper include the ability to cut costs and remove certain back office operations to streamline processes and increase the speed of reconciliation; while there are many potential benefits, the FCA still wants to ensure the risks don't outweigh the benefits; the FCA is also looking at how they might regulate blockchain, they typically regulate the application of technology but to ensure what they are calling "sensible development" they might consider regulating the actual ledger technology. Source
UK consumer lender Lending Works has lent over GBP50 million ($62.68 million) to UK consumers, also reporting over 10,000 clients; the firm's success has been helped by the launch of its innovative finance individual savings account which reported investments of approximately GBP1.5 million ($1.88 million) in the first 24 hours and has accumulated investments of over GBP8.8 million ($11.04 million) since February 2017; the firm's chief executive says it expects to reach originations of GBP100 million ($125.36 million) very soon; business growth is also expected to be helped by a new loan offering partnership with Revolut. Source
Speaking at the International Fintech Conference hosted by the UK government, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney explained how the Bank of England is looking at the new rise of fintech firms; "Light touch regulation, out-moded codes of market conduct, inadequate settlement and clearing infrastructure all contributed, we can draw on these experiences to help ensure that fintech boosts growth and promotes financial stability," explained Carney; he also pointed out that regulators cannot hamstring innovation as the benefits from fintech should not be stamped out by regulation. Source
The Financial Conduct Authority's P2P lending standards have caused only 40% of P2P loans to be covered under the HM Treasury's 36H regulation; 36H regulation is a compliance factor that P2P firms are concerned with; the differing definitions involve the matching of the loans; the complex process of institutional pre-funding and subsequent loan matching has been a factor resulting in discrepancies between the loan matching definitions from the 36H regulation and the Financial Conduct Authority's definition. Source
UK-based P2P lending platform Assetz Capital has announced a promotional interest rate increase for investors in its 30 day access account; investors will receive a 4.75% rate of interest for up to 90 days after investment through May 11; the promotion adds 50 basis points to the current rate on the account with interest paid monthly. Source
Online consumer lender 4finance has raised $325 million from an issuance of bonds; the bonds are senior unsecured, five-year fixed rate notes issued with a 10.75% yield at par; the firm will use the proceeds for debt restructuring, business development and corporate management. Source
The Ranger Direct Lending Fund is trading at a discount to its NAV in part due to effects from issues at Argon Credit; the Fund had exposure of $28 million to Argon when it announced its bankruptcy in December 2016; while it said the Fund would see little effect from the exposure it has now announced a write-down from holdings in the Princeton Alternative Income fund which was affected by Argon Credit; further developments continue to occur and volatility is expected to continue for the Fund's share price. Source
The Bank of England (BoE) has been active in researching the benefits of blockchain; it says the technology has the potential to save banks tens of billions of dollars in operating costs; the Bank of England governor Mark Carney, has cited securities settlement as one area where blockchain can provide cost savings and efficiencies; the BoE is working on initiatives for securities settlement and also researching blockchain through numerous other channels including involvement with PwC, various Blockchain consortium groups and membership in the Hyperledger. Source
P2P-Banking has launched an IFISA database to help UK investors compare IFISA providers; investors can filter search criteria by interest rate, term, loan type, minimum investment, account transfers and promotions among other criteria; the focus of the service is on P2P lending IFISAs however the database also includes other types of IFISA investment options. Source