The UK based digital banking firm 11:FS has hired fintech expert Sam Maule to help head up their expansion into North America; "Having made a great impact in the first 15 months of 11:FS' life, we now feel we can have a similar impact with Sam at the helm in North America and Canada, helping organizations really understand what digital transformation within their banks and insurers truly means," CEO David Brear explained; 11:FS is also looking to open a New York office and named entrepreneur and investor Lisa Gansky as non-executive director. Source
In a LinkedIn post, Sukhwinder Shoker provides insight into MarketInvoice's loan book which the company shares publicly; analysis includes data on originations and advance rates, invoice terms, risk-price grade, gross discount rates, diversification and net returns; according to Shoker's analysis, the average monthly net return achieved since January 2012 by investors before fees and tax is 50 basis points. Source
Firm was given full FCA authorization at the beginning of 2017 and expects the IFISA launch to add to high current demand on the platform; says it will target financial advisers with the new offering; the lender has originated over GBP130 million ($169 million) since launching in April 2016; it focuses on secured property loans with conservative loan to value ratios of approximately 60%. Source
UK online marketplace lender ThinCats is the latest P2P platform to receive full authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); the firm is a secured business lender and says it has a number of developments in progress including the launch of an IFISA; in comments regarding the authorization, John Mould, CEO of ThinCats, said: "We are delighted to have been granted FCA authorization, proving the dedication of our team and processes. We are very happy that more and more alternative finance providers are now being authorized, as it ultimately proves that the industry deserves the trust and confidence of investors, advisors and SME borrowers alike." Source
The firm recently launched in Ireland with a peer-to-peer platform lending model that integrates a borrower's social network in the lending process; it has received Financial Conduct Authority approval and says the additional funds will help it to launch in the UK; the firm is seeking GBP2 million ($2.60 million) in equity funding and will also potentially add more debt funding; Oli Cavanagh, founder of Flender, says he expects most of the funding to come from institutional investors. Source
Landbay will add Positive Lending to its distribution network; Landbay has a comprehensive suite of services for its intermediaries and is also supporting them in advance of the UK's September PRA portfolio landlord changes; Landbay is a UK specialist buy to let mortgage lender authorized by the FCA and involved with the P2PFA as one of its members. Source
Funding Circle has rebranded with a new website and logo; the rebranding is centered around a focus on expansion and growth; in regards to the rebranding, Chief Marketing Officer Darryl Bowman said, "We are hugely passionate about helping thousands more businesses and investors across the world and today's rebrand is the next step on this journey."; since launching the firm has facilitated loans to 32,000 businesses and estimates it has helped support the creation of approximately 80,000 jobs. Source
LendInvest's retail bond began trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) this week, with the offering raising GBP50 million ($65 million) and promoted as the first to be issued by a fintech company; the underlying assets in the bond portfolio include property loans issued by the LendInvest platform; Christian Faes, co-founder and CEO of LendInvest, said: "We launched the bond program to make our asset class available to retail investors through an LSE listed offering because it is a well-established, robust structure that offers customers considerable protections. However, whilst the bond was popular with retail investors, some of the city's largest institutional investors also made significant investments."; the retail bond is the first in a multi-year GBP500 million ($650 million) bond program for LendInvest. Source
German fintech Deposit Solutions has acquired Savedo; Savedo is also a startup in the fintech space and the two firms offer similar services; Deposit Solutions provides a deposit marketplace for savers allowing them to move funds among 15 European banks in order to achieve the highest rate of return; Savedo will help Deposit Solutions expand its offering by adding 13 new banking partners and integrating 18,000 new customers. Source
Invesco Perpetual has sold GBP9.6 million ($12.45 million) worth of shares in the Ranger Direct Lending Fund, reducing its stake to 27.9%; the GBP243 million ($315 million) Fund has been struggling in 2017; it primarily invests across the private debt landscape with a focus on private direct lenders; however its losses have been related to its exposure to troubled lending platform Argon Credit which it had invested in indirectly through the Princeton Alternative Fund; in February 2017 it reported a significant impairment charge for the investment and its value has been decreasing. Source