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
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
PayPal will offer loans to larger businesses that process payments with its platform and have access to new firms as a result of the acquisition; Swift Financial was founded in 2006 and extends credit with loans and advances; term loans of up to $500,000 will now be available to businesses; Darrel Esch, vice president and commercial officer of global credit at PayPal, stated, "This is an area where customers have been asking for more."; terms of the deal were not disclosed. Source
Merger will result in the largest robo-advisor in marketplace lending; the companies will operate separately for now but the company aims to take the best of both platforms; the funds offered will be streamlined with the LendingRobot Series fund being the focus going forward; Bo Brustkern, co-founder and CEO of NSR Invest, will be leading the new entity with Emmanuel Marot, co-founder and CEO of LendingRobot, acting as a special advisor; the new entity will have $150 million in assets under management with over 8,000 clients. Source
Summit will be held in Washington D.C.; the Online Lending Policy Institute (OLPI) is one of the leading industry groups to promote regulatory discussions in Washington; the event will be held on September 25 at the Renaissance Hotel; industry participants will share insights, propose standards and have a dialogue with regulators and policymakers; the OLPI was founded by Cross River, the Boston University Center for Finance, Law & Policy (CFLP) and RocketLoans. 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
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
StreetShares has announced a $10.3 million fundraising; the US marketplace lender specializes in funding business loans to companies managed by veterans; the platform has a range of product offerings with loans issued for $2,000 to $100,000. Source
GreenSky is the third most valuable fintech company in America; managed by David Zalik it provides a unique lending service with a business model scalable to diverse industries; currently focused on home remodeling contractors it offers fast approvals for borrowers with support by phone, website or mobile app; Forbes provides more details on David Zalik, the evolution of the business and its future aspirations. Source
Scott Sanborn talks with Bloomberg about LendingClub's recovery and Q217 results; says the firm has focused on internal controls and investors; highlights that 44% of loan funding in Q2 came from banks; also discusses competition with credit cards and the consumer credit market. Source