San Francisco-based Coinbase has received approval for digital currency trading of Ether and Litecoin in New York; the company was also granted approval for a debit card service called Shift Card; with the approval, Maria Vullo and the the New York State Department of Financial Services reiterated their position on the OCC's fintech charter, noting the importance for state fintech oversight. Source
In November 2016 the New York Fed reported on an increase in subprime auto loan delinquencies putting the sector on watch; a report from Fitch Ratings is now showing continued deterioration in the sector during the second half of 2016 and Mizuho is reporting subprime auto loan loss rates increased to 9.1% in January 2017 from 7.9% in January 2016; Fitch reports that 60+ day subprime auto delinquencies increased to nearly 6% in the fourth quarter of 2016. Source
The marketplace lender has extended the maturity of its credit facility with Deutsche Bank to March 2019; the revised terms also add an additional $52 million to the credit facility; in comments regarding the revised terms, Howard Katzenberg, chief financial officer of OnDeck said, "The closing of this transaction reflects a continued ability to execute our financing strategy for 2017, which includes extending debt maturities and creating additional funding capacity for future loan growth." Source
Small business lender Kabbage is planning for a new equity fundraising, targeting a few hundred million dollars; sources say the lender is considering potential acquisitions including a buyout of OnDeck; Kabbage has reported a number of recent successes including a partnership with Banco Santander, expansion to Ireland and the industry's largest asset-backed securitization of small business loans. Source
Bloomberg provides insight on factors involved in a potential takeover of OnDeck Capital after rumors on Thursday that Kabbage was considering an offer to acquire the firm; it seems OnDeck's shareholders would likely veto a takeover with 45% of the company still owned by its original investors; as a private company, the structuring of the deal terms for Kabbage would also be difficult and to gain any interest from OnDeck's shareholders they would have to offer a considerable premium. Source
Promise Financial was previously a marketplace lender focused on providing wedding loans; it issued loans of approximately $10,000 with interest rates up to 30%; in January the firm announced a change to its name and business model citing competitive pressures as the main reason for the shift in focus; it will now sell its technology as a service to banks and is in the process of changing its name to DigiFi. Source
CommonBond has created a March Debtness bracket to look at the payoff rates of this year's March Madness basketball teams; the bracket identifies the time it takes for students to pay off their student loans; UCLA is CommonBond's current March Madness winner with the fastest payoff rate at 4.42 years. Source
Scott first looks back at 2016, how Lending Club was able to overcome adversity and highlights some of the leading lenders in the space like SoFi and OnDeck; he makes the comparison that online lending is a lot like online retail and there are many lessons to be learned; just like customers in retail the customers in banking do not want to go to the local branch to get a loan, they want to have a seamless digital experience like they already have with the likes of Amazon; Scott offers three ideas to define the next decade for a stronger industry, evolve the customer experience, unleash the platform's potential and amplify the core innovations that serve customers; he finishes up with a few questions from audience members. Source
The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing for March 28 with a panel of banking executives to gain greater insight into how Dodd-Frank has affected lending in the banking industry; the House Financial Services Committee works within the House of Representatives and is the main group governing regulation of the financial services industry; the hearing will help to gain insight into the effects on bank lending from Dodd-Frank which will help in directing Trump administration reform; the House Financial Services Committee is led by Jeb Hensarling who has previously reported the Financial CHOICE Act which is presented as a replacement for Dodd-Frank. Source
Lend Academy talks with Andrea Jung of Grameen America in their podcast; Grameen America is a non-profit lender with a concept founded by Muhammad Yunus who has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts; it provides small business loans to female entrepreneurs; Andrea talks about her career experience and the Grameen America business model, explaining how it has evolved from the original Grameen started by Muhammad Yunus; Grameen currently boasts a default rate of just 0.3% on $620 million of lending. Source