Prosper has reported the loss of another company executive a few months after the resignation of its former CEO Aaron Vermut; Eric Thaller, executive vice president of capital markets, has left the firm to join Sunbit, a consumer lending startup offering point of sale credit solutions for retail businesses; Thaller was a lead advocate for institutional investment in marketplace loans and directed the firm's institutional investment business. Source
Experian has partnered with Finicity to launch Digital Verification Solutions, a service that leverages Finicity's technology to connect with financial institutions for verifying income and assets; Experian is the first credit bureau to offer this type of solution; in addition to offering an enhanced service, the solution is also intended to help lenders broaden their credit underwriting for thin file borrowers; Finicity is also working with other lenders to help improve verification processes and shorten the end-to-end processing time for lending. Source
Experian is the most recent company to join the Marketplace Lending Association; credit reporting agency Experian has become actively integrated in the marketplace lending ecosystem and is committed to supporting transparent and responsible financial innovation for the marketplace lending industry; Experian's expertise in data and analytics will greatly support the goals of the Marketplace Lending Association. Source
India's fintech market is growing with a number of socioeconomic factors driving innovation; in 2016 over $1.6 billion was invested in India's fintech industry; the CEO and founder of India's Rubique highlights three ways the Indian lending space is being disrupted, including insight on blockchain, marketplace lending and robo advisory services. Source
Alternative credit bureau, FactorTrust has partnered with Armada in an effort to provide lenders and borrowers with more comprehensive credit underwriting; Armada develops customized software solutions for loan origination and loan management systems; its lending technology solutions will utilize alternative credit data provided by FactorTrust; according to Armada Labs Chairman and Managing Partner Ralph Ayala, "The integration of the two business systems means minimal to no lead time for clients wanting to use alternative credit data in their loan systems, and eliminates any development work on the customer's end, getting them online more quickly." Source
Faircent has released a market report on P2P lending in India; report says Faircent, India's largest P2P lender, had funding of over Rs 1 crore ($150,000) in August 2016 and has been growing originations at a 15% to 20% monthly rate; report also provides insight on the platform's borrowers; in India, P2P platforms continue to await guidelines from the government which are expected to help improve business efficiency. Source
Karun Thareja, Faircent's chief marketing officer, talks about the firm's business model and technology; the firm is one of the largest peer-to-peer consumer lenders in India and offers its investors annual returns ranging to 20%; it has built a comprehensive loan operating system with integrated client relationship management technology and lead generation channels; recently it has been focused on client acquisition through Facebook which it has integrated with its platform for customer communication. Source
FastPay is an online lender and credit provider for digital businesses in the US and UK; the company has partnered with Hitachi Capital America Corp. for a new FastPay for Enterprise product; the new product will provide working capital loans of $10 million or more to digital media enterprises. Source
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) works with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK to protect investments for consumers; the FSCS is comparable to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the US; the FCA is currently conducting research and undergoing consultation on the crowdfunding market; current consultation has involved communication between the FSCS and FCA on potential solutions for insuring funds; it's not likely that insured funds will be integrated into the FCA's new crowdfunding regulations however the two agencies are discussing options. Source
Folk2Folk is the most recent marketplace lender in the UK to receive full FCA authorization; largest P2P lender to receive the authorization with origination volume of over 125 million British pounds since 2013; allows it to seek HMRC approval for offering clients the option to invest through an innovative finance individual savings account; minimum investment for platform investors is currently 25,000 British pounds; platform provides secured loans to small businesses with property or land as collateral. Source