Lend Academy takes a retrospective look at the most important stories for the industry in 2016; regulation was a factor for the industry and 2016 included a white paper from the Treasury with consultation from seven federal agencies governing the financial services industry including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed its new fintech charter and the Marketplace Lending Association was formed as an advocate for the industry; other highlights included a $50 million investment in US P2P loans from Chinese marketplace lender CreditEase and a leading market position from SoFi. Source
Look beyond the initial aftereffects of recent market shocks and there are plenty of positive developments happening in blockchain-related industries, the leader of a global investment firm believes.
President Trump is set to sign two executive actions on Friday that take aim at reversing the new financial regulations that were put in place as a result of the 2008 financial crisis; the executive actions will give the labor secretary power to rescind the fiduciary rule and ask the Treasury secretary and regulators to come up with a plan to replace Dodd-Frank; the fiduciary rule was set to go into effect in April and was meant to ensure advisors had their client's best interests at heart; Dodd-Frank was passed in 2010 and began implementation in 2012; the law was meant to limit the chance of another financial crisis like we saw in 2008; uncertainty exists with what will end up happening, but signals show that the fiduciary rule will be struck down and Dodd-Frank will be replaced. Source
I first wrote about the GAO report on p2p lending last year. The GAO have been doing an analysis of...
Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a rapid wave of sanctions, bringing challenges for financial services firms looking to stay compliant.
PeerIQ's weekly newsletter provides insight from a week in Washington, D.C. beginning with the SEC's Fintech Forum on Monday, November 14; Ram Ahluwalia participated as a panelist providing an industry perspective on the "Capital Formation" panel; newsletter also provides details on potential terms from the OCC in their fintech charter and highlights three bills affecting fintech; PeerIQ also discusses the effect of capital and liquidity rules on asset-backed securities from banks. Source
Chinese regulators have issued new guidance for P2P lenders in further efforts to regulate China's fintech industry; the new guidance requires P2P lenders to register with the government which will also help regulators to build an industry database for development of future regulation; regulators involved with the new guidance include the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Source
The use of messaging apps raises compliance issues that SnipperSentry addresses. This issue is not going away for fintechs and banks.
The Economist magazine's intelligence unit (EIU) has published a report on regulatory support for financial inclusion in developing countries and it is now gaining traction with press and analysts; the report scores countries on having an inclusiveness strategy and building governmental and private sector expertise, then provides in-depth details in areas including credit markets, non-regulated lenders, payments and insurance; Colombia ties Peru this year for the most progressive country; India has shown the most improvement; Latin America and East/South Asia are leaders regionally while Africa and the Middle East remain behind; the EIU performed the research in conjunction with the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and the Multilateral Investment Fund at the Inter-American Development Bank. Source
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a report on financial innovation; the report entitled “Project Catalyst Report: Promoting Consumer Friendly Innovation” is an effort from the CFPB to expand its knowledge and inform consumers on the benefits of financial innovation. One specific approaches reflected upon is the CFPB's "Trial Disclosure Waiver Policy" to test and revise disclosure statements in a controlled environment, and no-action letters. Source