New York-based hedge fund Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC is actively pushing OnDeck Capital to reduce costs and reach profitability more aggressively than it has already outlined; the firm owns approximately 1.75% of the company's outstanding shares; Mario Cibelli is the primary spokesperson for Marathon Partners and says he contacted members of the board in March to urge for deeper cost reductions and analysis on a potential sale; it is likely that Marathon Partners could gain a board nomination from the discussions; OnDeck Capital could also see more involvement from hedge fund shareholder EJF Capital LLC which has said in public filings that it may also reach out to the company to discuss its future strategy. Source
AdaPia D'Errico, a prominent executive and marketer in real estate crowdfunding, is departing Patch of Land; CEO Paul Deitch, who was recently brought into the company to help it mature and reorganize, bid D'Errico a fond farewell; she will continue to serve in an advisory role through 2017, while considering future options including other aspects of real estate; she is replaced by Robert Greenberg, who joined the company in August as a marketing consultant. Source
US online lender Affirm has announced its 1 millionth consumer installment loan; the platform works with Cross River Bank for loan originations and partners with retailers to offer its credit financing solution; the firm is managed by Pay Pal co-founder Max Levchin and has also announced it will be moving its San Francisco headquarters to 650 California Street with 86,225 square feet of office space for the growing company. Source
Rob Pfeifer has been appointed to chief risk officer at Affirm; was previously chief financial officer; Pfeifer has been with Affirm since March 2013; prior to Affirm, Pfeifer worked in various financial analysis roles; he has extensive experience in forecasting, reporting and deal transactions.
Latin American online lender Afluenta has obtained the support of the Multilateral Investment Fund, an innovation lab of the Inter-American Development Bank, for development of a green loans product; the lender will provide the loans to individuals and businesses seeking financing for renewable energy equipment, energy-efficient appliances and other green energy related purchases; the development process for the green loans will include customized credit underwriting for energy efficient loans and borrowers. Source
Originating the loan to a borrower is just the beginning; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a presentation by Envestnet | Yodlee on monitoring the consumer after the loan; key items to focus on include: monitoring the lending relationship and data analysis of the borrower, ensuring you have the best data for a specific borrower, are credit data and scores enough or should you look to alternative data sources, what alternative data and details do you focus on to make sure you are making the right decision, and how do changes to income and employment effect the borrower status; focusing on the details is key, making sure you understand the different borrowers and the data points that affect them the most. Source
AI Assist in partnership with Conversica has launched the Conversica AI Sales Assistant for financial services; targeted users include alternative finance companies, merchant cash advance lenders and brokers, mortgage lenders and brokers, merchant processors, equipment leasers, debt consolidators and student loan providers; Conversica reports that the AI solution can significantly improve customer engagement specifically through follow up on incomplete funding applications. Source
Ally Bank has expanded its banking products to include mortgages and will offer the loans through an online service called Ally Home; the online service offering seeks to meet heightened expectations and shifting market priorities for digital, tech-driven customer experiences; with Ally Home, borrowers will have the option to manage their communication through email and their documentation online through any device; the bank also says it has partnered with mortgage servicing specialist, LenderLive, to provide fast and efficient service. Source
Seeking to be more involved in auto financing, the firm has launched Clearlane; the platform has been developed from the firm's acquisition of BlueYield; the integration and enhancement of the acquired business has resulted in a simplified customer experience and broad range of offerings; the platform includes over a dozen finance providers offering consumers auto financing and auto loan refinancing options with various opportunities identified for expansion. Source
AlphaFlow has announced the launch of AlphaFlow Managed Portfolios; created by Ray Sturm, co-founder of RealtyShares, AlphaFlow has been managing real estate investments that allow investors to invest in loans across multiple real estate crowdfunding platforms since its launch in 2015; the introduction of the AlphaFlow Managed Portfolios is an effort to better meet the needs and demands of the firm’s investors; the new platform will provide investors with a real estate portfolio of 75 to 100 real estate loans; the portfolio will be driven by AlphaFlow Advanced Analytics and targets returns of 8% to 10% with a 1% fee on assets under management. Source