A report from the Beijing Bureau of Financial Work says 90% of P2P platforms will struggle to stay in business in 2017; if their predictions are correct that would reduce the total number of P2P companies from 4,856 to approximately 500; companies will begin to undergo a review by regulators and it is expected that a run on deposits is likely to occur; regulators will be checking for a number of variables including two new requirements: the appointment of a custodian bank and full disclosure of the use of deposits; other factors under review will include risk management, business scale, IT infrastructure, investment sources and shareholders' credibility; firms will either be granted a P2P lending license or be required to liquidate; in 2016 the industry accounted for 800 billion yuan and according to the Beijing Bureau of Financial Work it is likely that 2017 will end drastically different for the industry overall. Source
Their website mentions names such as 'digital sterling' or 'Britcoin' and emphasizes the difference between CBCDs and cryptocurrencies.
A group of House Republicans has sent a letter to Comptroller Thomas Curry requesting his agency slowdown its plans for a fintech charter; the letter was signed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling and 33 other House Republicans; it primarily suggests that stakeholders are not receiving an appropriate amount of time to comment on the full details of the fintech charter and that there is potential for the fintech charter to be overturned by Congress. Source
In a speech last week to the US Chamber of Commerce, CFPB Richard Cordray provided thoughts geared towards fintech companies stating, "One message we are sending to the industry is, you are not going to be able to take advantage through arbitrage of our regulatory system. It's not fair for you to not have to meet the same expectations that banks have to meet. If you're trying to get an advantage by not meeting the same standards, that is not acceptable and we're trying to send that message loud and clear."; Cordray also spoke on finding the right balance of fintech regulation, modernizing regulations and the Bureau's look at debt collectors and payday lenders. Source
The Financial Conduct Authority released its interim update on crowdfunding rules last week; the update reported that the regulator would be scrutinizing numerous factors pertaining to P2P lending in the UK; one such factor, discussed by the Financial Times, includes the disclosure of loan performance; the introduction of provision funds has caused this disclosure to potentially be misleading for investors; in some cases platforms use provision funds to cover defaults for borrowers; this action could potentially lead to better than actual loan performance on the loans. Source
The UK's Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF) is actively involved in industry research and is currently doing three alternative finance surveys; much of the research is in conjunction with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), providing insight for its crowdfunding consultation period; CCAF is surveying crowdfunding investors and crowdfunding borrowers; CCAF has also announced it will now be doing a survey on blockchain and cryptocurrencies; as part of the FCA's regulatory study, CCAF is working with 25 crowdfunding and P2P lending platforms in the UK to gain greater insight into the crowdfunding ecosystem. Source