IW Capital has surveyed 1,000 investors who have between GBP10,000 ($12,812) and over GBP250,000 ($320,300) worth of investments; the report shows UK investors are willing to take on greater risk in 2017; 44% of investors think Brexit will have a positive impact on their investment strategy; many investors see investment opportunity in private equity and UK investors also reported they will be looking more to tax efficient investing. Source
A panel of finance executives discussed UK customer banking data at the UK Treasury's International Fintech conference in London; Antony Jenkins said financial data could potentially be controlled by varying companies with both alternative technology providers and financial institutions having different advantages; HSBC's Douglas Flint said a debate on data ownership and maintenance is still open for discussion. Source
UK-based P2P lending platform Assetz Capital has announced a promotional interest rate increase for investors in its 30 day access account; investors will receive a 4.75% rate of interest for up to 90 days after investment through May 11; the promotion adds 50 basis points to the current rate on the account with interest paid monthly. Source
UK consumer lender Lending Works has lent over GBP50 million ($62.68 million) to UK consumers, also reporting over 10,000 clients; the firm's success has been helped by the launch of its innovative finance individual savings account which reported investments of approximately GBP1.5 million ($1.88 million) in the first 24 hours and has accumulated investments of over GBP8.8 million ($11.04 million) since February 2017; the firm's chief executive says it expects to reach originations of GBP100 million ($125.36 million) very soon; business growth is also expected to be helped by a new loan offering partnership with Revolut. Source
Innovate Finance is planning to move from Canary Wharf to a new location in the Square Mile; the industry body also plans to provide space for startups; Mark Boleat, the City of London's policy chairman, also noted they plan to bring broader and faster wireless coverage in order to attract small businesses stating that the Square Mile was a "natural place for fintech to coalesce." Source
P2P-Banking has launched an IFISA database to help UK investors compare IFISA providers; investors can filter search criteria by interest rate, term, loan type, minimum investment, account transfers and promotions among other criteria; the focus of the service is on P2P lending IFISAs however the database also includes other types of IFISA investment options. Source
The Ranger Direct Lending Fund is trading at a discount to its NAV in part due to effects from issues at Argon Credit; the Fund had exposure of $28 million to Argon when it announced its bankruptcy in December 2016; while it said the Fund would see little effect from the exposure it has now announced a write-down from holdings in the Princeton Alternative Income fund which was affected by Argon Credit; further developments continue to occur and volatility is expected to continue for the Fund's share price. Source
The Financial Conduct Authority's P2P lending standards have caused only 40% of P2P loans to be covered under the HM Treasury's 36H regulation; 36H regulation is a compliance factor that P2P firms are concerned with; the differing definitions involve the matching of the loans; the complex process of institutional pre-funding and subsequent loan matching has been a factor resulting in discrepancies between the loan matching definitions from the 36H regulation and the Financial Conduct Authority's definition. Source
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a discussion paper on blockchain that looked to better understand the new technology and how it can be used in financial services; key takeaways from the paper include the ability to cut costs and remove certain back office operations to streamline processes and increase the speed of reconciliation; while there are many potential benefits, the FCA still wants to ensure the risks don't outweigh the benefits; the FCA is also looking at how they might regulate blockchain, they typically regulate the application of technology but to ensure what they are calling "sensible development" they might consider regulating the actual ledger technology. Source
The Financial Conduct Authority's Director of Strategy and Competition Christopher Woolard has reported some concerns over fintech regulations globally; in a speech at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London, Woolard specifically discusses fintech sandboxes noting concerns about establishing them before any government regulatory standards are in place and suggesting that countries institute some guidance before introducing sandbox initiatives; the UK has been a leader in sandbox innovation and the country plans to publish a full report in May on its first sandbox initiative. Source