Podcast talks with former SEC Enforcement Division attorney Nick Morgan; Nick Morgan says the SEC is reviewing all types of cases and using the Howey Test to determine whether the deals are considered an offering of securities; explains that the Howey Test considers whether the expectation of profit relies on efforts of investors and also says that the investigations center around whether the investors are passively investing or actively involved in creating value; Morgan also noted that the SEC's resources are limited given the vast number of ICOs being offered and reports that the investigations will likely focus first on any fraudulent activity with potential investigation efforts also on exchanges that encompass the inclusion of many ICOs. Source
SuperMoney reviews the new US consumer lending platform founded by Renaud Laplanche; firm is an online lender focused on personal loans, also offering consumer credit monitoring and education for its customers with benefits for high quality borrowers; SuperMoney outlines the platform's underwriting standards, application process, and pros and cons versus competitors. Source
Since launching in 2007, OnDeck has provided over $7 billion in capital to more than 70,000 customers in 700 different industries across the United States, Canada and Australia; creating a new type of commercial loan product for small businesses has been the company's focus since the beginning; its loans support small business activity in the regions it lends and its partnership with JPMorgan is an industry leading example of collaboration between fintechs and banks. Source
Hybrid digital wealth management firm Personal Capital now has $5 billion of assets under management (AUM) after accelerating growth with $2 billion in AUM added in 2017; Jay Shah, CEO of Personal Capital, tells Robo Advice News, "For investors with complex financial lives or for those who are just too busy to manage their own investments, we take the time and worry out of building an investment strategy."; new investors now invest $395,000 as compared to $289,000 since the start of the year, a 37% increase; the company has also launched a number of new features and closed a $40 million Series E round. Source
New research from Equifax Touchstone shows that automated investment has become a wider trend in P2P and wealth management; 82% of 141 surveyed investment advisors said they have a consistent approach to allocation and monitoring for clients; P2P platforms like Funding Circle recently removed self selection and instituted an autobid process for investors; John Driscoll, director at Equifax Touchstone, tells AltFi, "This approach helps strike the right balance between risk and return, particularly important in a world of increased market volatility."; according to Driscoll the FCA has been a main driver of this trend to ensure risk is maintained correctly for investors. Source
Rating agency DBRS has reviewed 12 US SoFi securitization transactions encompassing 36 different classes; the rating agency has upgraded 12 classes and confirmed 24; according to the agency, the confirmed classes are performing within expectations and the credit enhancement levels for the upgraded classes are sufficient to cover their new requirements. Source
American Express' Pay It Plan It mobile feature allows for installment payments on purchases of over $100; the mobile feature is associated with a customer's American Express card; the company says Pay It Plan It is available now on several consumer credit and co-branded cards and cards issued after June 1 will have the feature added by 2018. Source
Source reports on the operational costs associated with loans and how automation and artificial intelligence (AI) can help reduce those costs; automation can now replace manual processes such as credit checks, data consolidation, onboarding, loan documentation, know your customer and more; robotics and AI are also assisting in risk analysis for SMEs; additionally, machine learning solutions have also been evolving to evaluate thousands of data points from various sources; as these solutions evolve, banks too will need to integrate greater automation to stay competitive. Source
Banks have been trying to understand what they will need to change to stay competitive as finance becomes more digital; the key question they try to answer is buy, build or partner; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a keynote fireside chat that focused on how a global cooperative bank stays innovative; digitizing their lending process to become more like a platform, understanding that fintech is more of an evolution and not a revolution, better understanding the customer's needs and offering hybrid solutions is key to staying ahead of the innovation curve. Source
MiFID II legislation is likely to come into play on January 3, 2018; the legislation will regulate trading activities and further investor protections; article highlights the impact across financial services with robo advisory and high-frequency trading directly influenced. Source