RateSetter now has over 2,000 broker dealers supporting loan originations on its platform with loans from the intermediaries doubling approximately every six months; top reasons for the borrowing from this channel include vehicle loans, home improvement and debt consolidation; firm has also lent $150 million since its launch in 2014. Source
Bank of America Merrill Lynch says they are implementing HighRadius, an enterprise software AI solution to speed up reconciliation of receivables; they specifically are looking to focus on the bank's largest business clients; HighRadius uses AI, machine learning and optical character recognition to match a payment to a receivable; this will help cut down on some of the labor intensive work and more efficiently be able to send payment reminders to clients; BAML is the latest bank using AI to improve processes and cut cost. Source
Credit Suisse is leading a blockchain project seeking to develop a blockchain-based platform for syndicated loans; Emmanuel Aidoo from Credit Suisse is leading the project which began last fall and is expected to launch in 2018; the platform would involve more efficient processing of syndicated loans which involve multiple lenders providing capital to a corporate borrower; the parties involved believe that a blockchain-based syndicated loan platform could increase deal flow by reducing costs and processing time, making syndicated loans a more attractive investment for lenders. Source
Dave Girouard is the founder and CEO of Upstart; Girouard spent almost his entire career working for tech firms including Apple and Google and a lot of Upstart's team actually comes from Google; given that they lean heavier towards the 'tech' side of fintech, Girouard has a unique perspective; shares the general trend of software disrupting every business and that every business will become a tech business; discusses the history of marketplace lending, attributes of a marketplace and the evolution of the marketplaces; reports on how artificial intelligence and machine learning can help in a number of ways including creation of real time analysis, development of customized credit scoring, expanded access to credit through broader underwriting variables and faster processing; also discusses some of the challenges that currently keep machine learning solutions from the mainstream including adverse selection, loan stacking, fraud and regulatory concerns; ends with the benefits of alternative machine learning technology including more inclusion, lower rates, lower costs and greater financial support for consumers. Source
CB Insights reports on two of Europe's top markets for fintech investment, the UK and Germany; the UK is reporting significant early-stage investment in personal banking platforms and insurtech with insurtech also a top investment in Germany; year-to-date, European fintech companies have raised approximately $2.6 billion with early stage fintech financing in the UK at $202 million and Germany reporting financing of $83 million. Source
Blend has signed new bank partnership agreements and announced fundraising of $100 million; the firm will partner with Wells Fargo and US Bancorp, providing its mortgage software to help improve the mortgage application process for the two large banks; concurrently, it has also completed a $100 million fundraising round led by Greylock Partners that will increase its value to approximately $500 million and allow it to potentially expand to other lending markets. Source
Cryptocurrencies have received a lot of attention in the last few months; currently there are about 15 dedicated hedge funds to the space, by end of 2017 there will be about 100 crypto hedge funds; General Crypto's Managing Partner Logan Kugler talks about the hedge fund growth and the strategy behind his fund buying and holding coins with game changing value; with a significant jump in institutional capital coming he helped put together a list of top cryptocurrency investors who all share their thoughts on their top three crypto choices. Source
With fall approaching there are many conferences to attend for fintech professionals; Lend Academy shares a description of each conference as well as discount codes for attending some of the conferences; list includes FinovateFall, ABS East, OLPI Policy Summit, LendIt Europe 2017, Lend360, Money2020, American Banker's Digital Lending & Investing, AltFi Global Summit, IMN Investors Conference on Marketplace Lending, and Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit 2017. Source
Voice recognition and machine learning technology are combining to offer consumers new services across various industries; in financial services ING has invested $945 million in a digital technology initiative that plans to include voice automated banking services through devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home; Amazon Alexa is now working with many financial services clients for voice integration including UBS, LPL, Fidelity, Capital One and Betterment; this week it was also reported that Wal-Mart will partner with Google to offer customers voice directed ordering through Google Home on Google Express. Source
AltFi reports on recent developments affecting the marketplace lending industry; discusses challenges at RateSetter and platform changes at Zopa and Funding Circle; also notes that UK regulators may be seeking increased transparency through new regulations; argues against criticism that platforms are struggling for borrowers and shows origination volume growth since 2005. Source