Initially started as a pet project The Girl Banker blog by Natalie Bartholomew of Grand Savings Bank has caught on as an industry sensation; her blog talks about the accomplishments of women in banking; “I realized I had a voice in terms of being a woman in banking or a woman in business,” Bartholomew said to American Banker; she has discussed eventually talking about pressure women feel in the workplace and the choice between family and careers; she is also looking at monetizing her success with speaking engagements, partnerships and sponsorships. Source.
In PeerIQ’s Weekly Industry Update they cover job growth numbers, the Fed’s planned rate rises and more fintech related stories that ended 2017; OneMain Financial received backing from Apollo Global Management and Värde Partners; GreenSky and MoneyLion completed fundraising’s; new regulation news coming out of Indiana that would cap the personal loan interest rates. Source.
On the heels of their most recent fundraising digital only bank Revolut has added former Goldman Sachs Executive Michael Sherwood...
Fintech startup Brex is in discussions to raise a fresh round of capital that will value the company at $2bn...
According to Techcrunch a new fintech unicorn is about to be crowned; digital payments leader Marqeta is looking to raise...
Reuters reports that Quorum is in discussions with ConsenSys on a potential merger according to people familiar with the plans;...
Online lender Avant was one company greatly affected by the industry's challenges in 2016; in May it laid off 60 workers with further reductions in July; it also paused its plans to expand into Australia and offer new auto loans and credit cards; a new partnership with Regions Bank has helped revive the company's growth and it also plans to announce another partnership in February; the new business activity has helped it to begin hiring again and it's currently looking for 25 technologists and some additional customer service support; in 2017 Avant's President, Adam Hughes, says the firm will focus on three main initiatives: growing Avant's core lending product, partnering with more brick-and-mortar banks and launching the credit card product; it also has plans to continue its previous initiatives including Australia expansion and auto loans. Source
Sharestates is one of the most successful companies in the real estate crowdfunding space; they grew originations to over $1...
The new CEO of the Innovative Lending Platform Association has written an op-ed focused on the Madden decision and how it could be fixed by Congress to better serve small businesses. Source
Now more than ever it is important to bring the fintech community together. To help you navigate these unpredictable times...