Marketplace loans are attracting increased investment interest from all types of investors and specifically retail investors because of their low minimum investments and ease of access; Forbes outlines the industry's tools for platform diversification and aggregation in their article; featured platforms include NSR Invest, LendingRobot, BlueVestment and PeerCube. Source
LendIt Forum will be hosting Marketplace Lending 101 on January 18 at 2:00 PM EST; in 2016, marketplace lending reported some of the industry's best fixed income returns and loan investing accessibility is expected to continue with an estimated $1 trillion in marketplace loan originations by 2025; Peter Renton of Lend Academy and Andrew Dix from Crowdfund Insider will discuss the evolution of marketplace lending and answer questions from the audience about investing in marketplace lending loans. Source
ApplePie Capital has built a dynamic marketplace lending platform with a range of high net worth and institutional investors focused on business lending for franchises; Lend Academy talks with ApplePie Capital CEO Denise Thomas in their podcast; the podcast provides in-depth details on platform loan terms for franchisees; Denise Thomas also gives insight into the small business franchise market and talks about recent capital investments for the platform. Source
In mid-December Victory Park Capital provided a $100 million credit facility and $3 million preferred equity investment for Cognical, Inc.; Cognical, Inc. is a payment platform for in-store and online lease-to-own purchases; the firm's technology approves purchasers for payment plans; the investment will help Cognical expand its offerings for merchants serving underbanked consumers seeking affordable payment options for consumer goods including furniture, appliances and electronics. Source
P2PGI will be increasing its allocation to asset-backed loans in its investment trust; the firm will primarily focus on secured real estate loans however it will also be increasing its allocation to invoice credit lending and other secured lending investments; the increased focus on secured loans follows a previous announcement on targeting UK originated loans. Source
The bank has seen behavior in the unsecured personal loan market getting out of control; lenders are trying to battle each other to offer cheaper loans in an uncertain time; Paul Lynam, chief executive of Secure Trust, said, "The competition becomes excessive; lenders tend to continue to fight for market share, which means lower pricing."; this is not the first time Secure Trust has pulled back on unsecured consumer loans; in 2006 they ceased originations only to come back in 2009. Source
CAN Capital Inc. has hired an advisor to help the business after halting loan originations and releasing senior executives; Realization Services Inc. has been hired to help the firm negotiate with creditors and strategy investment banking advisor Jefferies; CAN Capital has been lending to small businesses since 1998 with $6.5 billion in loans and cash advances; near the end of 2016 the firm reported data irregularities and issues with loan performance and collections. Source
Landbay has received its individual savings account approval from HM Revenue and Customs; follows the firm's full Financial Conduct Authority authorization in December; plans to launch its innovative finance individual savings account (IFISA) in February; the IFISA will allow tax-efficient investing in the firm’s residential property loans. Source
Peter Renton of Lend Academy and Andrew Dix from Crowdfund Insider will be doing a question and answer forum discussion on Wednesday, January 18 at 2:00 PM EST; the webinar will be hosted by LendIt, Crowdfund Insider and Orchard Platform; participants can submit questions for the speakers at registration or during the webinar; LendIt will also be hosting a number of webinars leading up to LendIt USA 2017; register today for Marketplace Lending 101 and submit your questions. Source
Technology developer Misys has created P2P lending software for banks allowing them to add another layer to their lending capabilities; the firm is marketing the software to banks as an alternative for traditional lending; the software can integrate with traditional banking technology and allows borrowers to be matched with individual or institutional lenders willing to fund their loans; could affect new structuring of banking partnerships; large partnerships to date have included Spanish banking group Banco Santander with US marketplace lender Kabbage and JPMorgan with OnDeck. Source