Blend Network is a UK-based company, offering asset-backed property loans to retail, high net worth and institutional investors; officially launching loans on the site two weeks ago, the firm has raised GBP350,000 ($460,115) from a small network of investors; loans are expected to offer between eight and 15% with a minimum investment of GBP1,000 ($1,315); loans are introduced by F&P who acts as a sponsor in the P2P sector; the firm introduces borrowers to a wide variety of lenders and currently works with platforms such as ThinCats. Source
UK invoice financing platform MarketInvoice reported a record day of transactions this week; the platform transacted GBP4.1 million ($5.38 million) in invoice advances to UK businesses; the firm's MarketInvoice Pro product has been a factor supporting increased lending volumes on the platform with the new product offering an open funding line for businesses. Source
P2P-Banking.com has released international lending volumes for July; Zopa topped the list with originations of EUR119.6 million ($USD141.9 million) for the month; report includes a number of milestones including cumulative lending of GBP2.5 billion ($3.28 billion) for Zopa and GBP2 billion ($2.63 billion) for RateSetter; the report does not include data from US P2P lending platforms. Source
Firm says the platform is the first to introduce hire purchase loans for businesses; the firm has developed the product in collaboration with former wholesale lending partner Corporate Asset Solutions who will serve as a distribution channel; RateSetter will take full security over the specified asset and the platform says its hire purchase agreements will range up to GBP750,000 ($993,000). Source
ID Finance will collaborate with Yuri Popov and asset manager Da Vinci Capital to launch the FinTech Credit Fund; estimated fund value is $200 million with debt financing focused on fintech and alternative lending; ID Finance is a growing fintech firm with three businesses: MoneyMan, Ammopay and Solva. Source
Blocksure is looking to bring the beneficial aspects of blockchain technology to the insurance market; according to Coverager, Blocksure has developed an insurance policy delivered by a SMART contract; SMART stands for see-through, multifaceted, authoritative and real-time; this would enable insurers and the many parties involved in a transaction to use one centralized location for the contract; this would be a more efficient and secure way to operate; we are likely to continue to see blockchain based proof of concepts across the insurance space in the future. Source
Ratesetter took a minority stake in George Banco in May but now the firm is being acquired; all George Banco loans will be refinanced and RateSetter lenders will be paid in full; RateSetter has GBP30 million ($39.11 million) of outstanding loans with the company; George Banco provides loans to borrowers with poor credit and brings in a third party in case the borrower fails to repay. Source
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released new rules for banking business lenders regarding APR transparency and pricing; the CMA has confirmed that P2P lenders will be exempt from its new banking rules; despite the exemption, it is likely that the new rules will cause more P2P lenders to provide greater APR transparency in order to maintain market competitiveness. Source
Fellow Finance is a Finnish P2P lender; the new offering will allow businesses to turn trade receivables into cash; invoices will be placed on the marketplace for investors; the loans will be offered in addition to traditional business loans; Jouni Hintikka, CEO of Fellow Finance, stated: "Financing a trade receivable is one of the easiest and most reasonable ways for companies to acquire working capital. By financing an invoice, a firm immediately receives its money, which accelerates money circulation and supports the growth of the business. The invoice finance service by Fellow Finance is technologically a forerunner compared to traditional services and operators in Europe." Source
The European robo adviser has gained 10,000 customers and reported GBP260 million ($339.25 million) in assets under management; customers include Italian and UK consumers; source provides other data from the company's earnings results reporting a loss of GBP6.3 million ($8.22 million) from revenue of GBP167,628 ($218,721) for 2016; company says it is forecasting profitability by 2019; currently partnering with Allianz and another firm in Italy on two new servicing deals; also focused on launching a pension product this year. Source