AutoGravity was founded in 2015 and recently launched in 46 states; its mobile app provides users with four personalized auto financing offers on their smartphone; their statistics report over a quarter million users have downloaded the app and notes that its financing network includes 1,400 franchise dealers; the firm's report also includes demographics of users and types of cars purchased, among other statistics. Source
Philadelphia Fed president, Patrick Harker, gave a speech titled, "Fintech: Revolution or Evolution?" at the University of Pennsylvania; the speech was part of a lecture series at the School of Engineering and Applied Science; Patrick Harker discussed fintech in the context of technology, business and government noting innovation in cryptocurrency, blockchain, banking and regulation. 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
Seeking to be more involved in auto financing, the firm has launched Clearlane; the platform has been developed from the firm's acquisition of BlueYield; the integration and enhancement of the acquired business has resulted in a simplified customer experience and broad range of offerings; the platform includes over a dozen finance providers offering consumers auto financing and auto loan refinancing options with various opportunities identified for expansion. Source
New York-based hedge fund Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC is actively pushing OnDeck Capital to reduce costs and reach profitability more aggressively than it has already outlined; the firm owns approximately 1.75% of the company's outstanding shares; Mario Cibelli is the primary spokesperson for Marathon Partners and says he contacted members of the board in March to urge for deeper cost reductions and analysis on a potential sale; it is likely that Marathon Partners could gain a board nomination from the discussions; OnDeck Capital could also see more involvement from hedge fund shareholder EJF Capital LLC which has said in public filings that it may also reach out to the company to discuss its future strategy. Source
Bond Street is partnering with NerdWallet to develop small business lending resources to educate small businesses on its loans; resources will include service from NerdWallet's Small Business Loan Tool as well as guides and webinars on marketplace lending and small business planning; with the partnership, Bond Street intends to more broadly market and service small business lenders with its loan offerings which range from $10,000 to $1 million. Source
LendFoundry has developed a full operating system for marketplace lenders, banks and credit unions to provide online loans; Roger Vogel the firm's CEO talks about the operating system and how the business is evolving; also reports on the wide range of capabilities that the operating system offers including its APIs and services for compliance, loan originations and loan management. Source
Kabbage is reportedly considering an acquisition of small business online lender OnDeck; S&P Global analyzes a potential merger between the two firms which has high value deal prospects including combined 2016 SME loan originations of $3.82 billion, costs savings from similar balance sheet and securitization funding sources, and similar success in technology licensing partnerships, overall resulting in increased margins, earnings and more competitive terms to borrowers; the valuation metrics and negotiation factors are the main constraints to a potential deal; the minimum enterprise value reported by S&P Global is $291.7 million which is below its current market cap of $372.4 million and far below its original IPO valuation of $1.3 billion; key factors to watch for 2017 will be OnDeck's forecasted EBITDA and fundraising obtained by Kabbage. Source
Carvana has filed for a US initial public offering (IPO) and plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol CVNA; the online auto dealership sells its cars from vending machines located across the US; the company is planning to raise $100 million from the IPO and is working with investment bankers at Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank on the deal; its registration statement reports significant risks including higher public registration costs and profitability uncertainty. Source
Argon Credit has converted its chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to a chapter 7 filing; a judge has ordered Argon Credit to transfer all proceeds and portfolio payments to its largest creditor Fund Recovery Services; the approved claim in the case is $37.3 million and Fund Recovery Services is expected to be fully paid. Source