Lend Academy provides 2017 predictions for the industry and analyzes last year's predictions in their article; predictions for 2016 that did occur included a new auto lending product at Lending Club, online lending platform launches from banks, an increased focus on retail investors and a new industry trade association; in 2017 predictions include at least a dozen new bank partnerships, positive reception for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's fintech charter, lending platforms offering banking products, increased use of artificial intelligence and significant foreign investment from China in US platforms. Source
Peter Renton of Lend Academy shares his quarterly marketplace lending results for the third quarter; portfolio includes twelve accounts with investments in Lending Club, Prosper, Direct Lending Income Fund, Lend Academy P2P Fund, P2Pinvestor and PeerStreet; Q3 reported another quarter of lower returns; third quarter trailing twelve month return was 8.21%, a decrease from 8.72% in the second quarter and the sixth consecutive quarter of lower portfolio return. Source
Peter Renton from Lend Academy provides his quarterly report on marketplace lending investments; the portfolio return continued to trend lower in the fourth quarter of 2016 however the overall decrease was lower than previous quarters; trailing twelve month returns in Q4 2016 was 8.07% compared to 8.21% in Q3 2016; defaults were a significant factor during the quarter, reaching a new high; an analysis of performance across the following companies is included: Lending Club, Prosper, Direct Lending Income Fund, Lend Academy P2P Fund, P2Binvestor and PeerStreet. Source
Harvard Business School has released a comprehensive report on the state of small business lending and its current landscape; Lend Academy provides more details in their article with insight from author, Brayden McCarthy of Fundera; paper includes details on the evolution of online lending within the small business lending market; goals of the paper include laying a foundation for regulatory reform and exploring how online small business lenders can partner with banks. Source
A new association has been formed in the marketplace lending industry with a focus on fraud prevention; the Online Lending Network was launched this week at Money 20/20 and will work with ID Analytics on loan tracking and fraud risk solutions; Lend Academy provides more details in their article; focus is on technology from ID Analytics that helps to prevent loan stacking and predict a borrower's intentions. Source
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP has released a report based on survey results from 75 executives and investors at banks, fintech companies and private equity firms; Lend Academy provides a summary of the report in their article; report focuses on the interest from regional and community banks in partnering with fintech companies; high interest from these banks since the partnerships can help them provide their services at a lower cost and also expand geographically; survey results find that the majority of regional and community banks are already engaged in partnerships with fintech firms. Source
loanDepot has originated $100 billion in loans through a unique business model that facilitates loans through both an online platform and branch offices located throughout the US; Lend Academy provides more details on their business and recent milestone in their article; in 2016 loanDepot originated $38 billion in loans and since 2010 it has been growing loan volume at an average annual rate of 70%; the company acquires half a million potential borrowers per month and offers mortgage loans, mortgage refinancing, personal loans and home equity loans; Anthony Hsieh, loanDepot's CEO, cites their non-bank status and agile technology as leading factors for their rapid growth in loans and customer acquisition; mortgage lending is one area of the credit market with significant opportunity for market share gains from advanced technological solutions and loanDepot has successfully capitalized on the market opportunity. 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
Originations for the quarter were $464 million; OnDeck continues to tighten their credit policy and limit loans designated as held for sale on OnDeck's marketplace; company seeks to achieve GAAP profitability by the end of the year; the second quarter brought some of the highest quality borrowers the company has ever originated which resulted in OnDeck being in a substantially more stable credit position than six months ago; OnDeck made progress in expanding and lowering the cost of their funding sources on multiple fronts; the partnership with JP Morgan Chase has been extended for up to four years. Source
OnDeck released their Q4 earnings and also announced a reduction of 11% of its staff; the company added $19 million to their loss provision expenses in part due to underperformance seen in 15+ month loans; OnDeck is focused on being adjusted EBITDA positive in 2017 with GAAP profitability in 2018; originations were $632 million for Q4 2016; OnDeck continues to hold more loans on their balance sheet as revenue from loan purchasers remains flat. Source