Category: business credit lines

United States

OnDeck Small Business Online Lending Tops $ 10 Billion (PR Newswire) Rated:AAA

OnDeck has achieved a milestone in the Financial Technology (FinTech) industry, becoming the first non-bank online lender to surpass $10 billion in total loans originated to small businesses. OnDeck, with operations in the United States, Canada and Australia, is the world’s largest non-bank online lender to small business by total loan volume.

The achievement by OnDeck, a pioneer of the FinTech lending industry, is the latest indication that small businesses increasingly prefer to seek financing online. According to the Small Business Credit Survey from the Federal Reserve, small business owners are turning to online lenders in record numbers. In 2017, 24 percent of small businesses seeking credit applied online, up from 21 percent the previous year.

KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Consumer Loan Underlying Bond (CLUB) Credit Trust 2018-P2 (Business Wire) Rated: AAA

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns preliminary ratings to three classes of notes issued by Consumer Loan Underlying Bond (CLUB) Credit Trust 2018-P2 (“CLUB 2018-P2”). This is a $270.30 million consumer loan ABS transaction that is expected to close September 27, 2018.

Robinhood is targeting an IPO (Business Insider) Rated: AAA

Fintech unicorn Robinhood, which offers zero-fee stock, option, and crypto trading, has begun preparations to go public, Baiju Bhatt, the company’s chief executive, revealed at TechCrunch Disrupt SF last week. The US-based firm has raised $539 million in funding, and it’s currently valued at $5.6 billion.

In preparation for the initial public offering (IPO), the five-year-old company is in the process of hiring a chief financial officer (CFO), as well as undertaking audits from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA, a US securities markets watchdog.

The Next Billion Dollar Financial Platform – Baby Boomers (The Sociable) Rated: AAA

If you’ve immersed yourself in the world of Silicon Valley and you keep up with current trends, then it comes as no surprise that ageism in the U.S. tech world is an ongoing debate. The job search engine Indeed reports that 43% of workers in the tech industry worry about losing their jobs due to their age. While the general population is aware of the issue, its resolution is slow-moving.

The characteristics of Generation Z – those born after 1996 – are still being discovered. We don’t know enough about them yet to understand what kind of impact they will have. The Millennial Generation and Gen X have arguably been the main sales focus during the rise of Silicon Valley. Millennials in particular have overtaken the market, with 83% of today’s managers belonging to that generation. Finally, we have the Baby Boomers. Whether it’s because Millennials believe that older generations can’t use new tech – or that they inherently cater to people their own age by nature – Boomers are falling by the wayside.

People aged 50+ are the largest demographic in the United States, encompassing one third of the total population at 110 million. This age group is responsible for spending 50% of the total disposable income in the country.

Credit Card Debt Study: Trends & Insights (Wallet Hub) Rated: AAA

Americans repaid $40.6 billion in credit card debt during Q1 2018 – the second-largest quarterly payoff ever. But we added almost $30 billion back to our tab in Q2 2018. We also began the year owing more than $1 trillion in credit card debt for the first time ever, after adding a post-Great Recession record of $91.8 billion to our tab in 2017.

Only four times in the past three decades have we overspent so much in a year. And in each case, the charge-off rate – currently near historical lows – rose the following year. That’s true so far, as charge-offs are up nearly 3% from Q4 2017 to Q2 2018.

White Oak Global Advisors raises $ 2.1 billion for its Direct Lending Strategy (Globe Newswire) Rated: A

White Oak Global Advisors, LLC (“White Oak”) is pleased to announce the close of the White Oak Yield Spectrum Fund (the “Fund”) to outside investors. The Fund and other associated vehicles raised concurrently approximately $2.1 billion of total commitments, exceeding the $1.75 billion fundraising target. White Oak’s previous flagship fund, the White Oak Summit Fund, closed with approximately $1.3 billion of commitments in March 2016.

The capital for the White Oak Yield Spectrum Fund was raised from a diversified group of institutional investors worldwide. In particular, the Fund attracted very strong support from public and private pension funds, insurance companies and global family offices. White Oak currently manages over $5.6 billion of committed assets.

The Fund will primarily invest in first-lien, directly originated lending strategies, including term loans, asset-based loans, and equipment financing.

‘Fintech Charter’ Has No Early Takers as Lawsuit Looms (Wall Street Journal) Rated: A

A national banking regulator is offering cutting-edge financial firms a new pathway into the traditional banking system. So far, few of them are biting.

The lack of immediate interest from the likes of LendingClub Corp. LC +0.00% , Square Inc., and others comes in large part from uncertainty about what activities the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s so-called fintech charter will allow, what regulatory requirements it will carry, and whether it will hold up in court.

That uncertainty grew Wednesday when the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, a group of state regulators, said it intends to file a lawsuit challenging the OCC’s authority, renewing a previously unsuccessfully legal challenge.

2018 Fed Rate Hike Survey (Wallet Hub) Rated: A

Opendoor Buys Open Listing To Create End-to-End Marketplace (PYMNTS) Rated: A

In a press release, Opendoor said the acquisition of Open Listings, which operates a platform that aims to make it easier and lower-cost to find, tour and buy any home on the market, will enable it to create an end-to-end marketplace for the buying, selling and trading of homes. According to the company, 71 percent of home sellers are also looking to purchase a home.

With the acquisition, Opendoor customers will be able to line up a purchase of any home on the market via a trade-in transaction. Buyers who use Open Listings will get a discount on the home purchased through a commission rebate of up to 50 percent, the company said in the press release.

Via mobile phone or computer, customers can tour and submit an offer on any home on the market, get an offer on their existing home and align the timing of both transactions. By integrating Open Listings with Opendoor‘s mortgage, title and homes services, the company said conducting a real estate transaction will be as easy as booking a flight or making an online purchase.

Fintech out to start national bank clears one hurdle but faces more (American Banker) Rated: A

Varo Money in Salt Lake City is one step closer to becoming a national bank.

The fintech firm, which aims to lower the cost of banking through a mobile-only platform, recently received preliminary and conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Varo still needs to apply and receive approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve.

Colin Walsh, Varo’s co-founder and CEO, is optimistic that the company will be operating as a bank within a year. He characterized the OCC’s decision as a pivotal moment for banking — one that shows regulators are more willing to consider nontraditional models.

State regulators renew push to block OCC’s fintech charter (American Banker) Rated: A

State regulators said Wednesday they intend to refile a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in an effort to block it from offering a new federal bank charter for fintech firms.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors said its board recently decided to proceed with another round of litigation against the national bank regulator now that the agency said July 31 it would offer a so-called special-purpose national bank charter to fintech firms.

This will be the state regulators’ second attempt at blocking the OCC in court.

Millennials in this American city are carrying the most debt (Ladders) Rated: B

New data from online loan marketplace LendingTree shows that San Antonio is the American city where Millennials have “the most debt,” with a median debt balance of $27,122 — not including mortgages.

Researchers took a look at “anonymized credit report data of My LendingTree users who live in the 50 biggest metro areas in the U.S.” to compile the data. They were born anywhere between the years 1981 and 1996.

The 10 cities where Millennials have the most debt

Here they are, plus the average percentages of what highly contributes to Millennials’ “total debt balances.” Again, these don’t include mortgages:

1. San Antonio: median balance of $27,122, with car loans making up 43.2% of “total debt balances”
2. Pittsburgh: median balance of $26,403, with student debt being 45.7% of all debt
3. Austin: median balance of $26,164, with 18.1% of all debt being from credit cards and 37.1% being from car loans

United Kingdom

Stress testing at Funding Circle (Funding Circle) Rated: AAA

This means building a sustainable platform that allows investors to earn attractive and stable returns by lending to creditworthy businesses, during every stage of an economic cycle. Since 2010, globally we’ve improved access to affordable capital for more than 50,000 businesses, and opened up a new asset class for over 80,000 investors.

Fed stress parameters included:

Thinking of buying into the Funding Circle IPO? Read this first (AOL) Rated: A

Peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle fired the starting gun on its much-anticipated plans to go public earlier this month. The company, which is only eight years old, is looking to attract a value of £1.7bn and raise £300m in the process.

Since its founding, Funding Circle has transformed the market for business financing, matching everyday investors who have money to spare with businesses looking for funding to expand. In total, the company has put together £5bn in loans for small businesses since 2010.

However, if you’re thinking of buying into the IPO, there are several issues you need to consider first.

Barclays opens up mobile banking app to rival accounts (Fintech Futures) Rated: A

Barclays has become the “first” UK bank to allow customers to bring their other current accounts into its mobile banking app.

Barclays says this new feature gives customers a way to get a clearer picture of their day-to-day finances within its app. It uses API technology – all powered by open banking.With competition in UK banking tougher than an East End gangster, banks are trying to stand out and play a game of constant one-upmanship.

It’s also a riposte to the many fintech start-ups offering a similar service. For example, last month London-based personal finance app Bippit launched with the offer of an account connecting and savings service.

Monzo: When is a bank not a bank? (FT Alphaville) Rated: A

Monzo is frequently hailed as one of the most exciting challenges the tech industry poses to high street banks.

Wikipedia calls it a “digital, mobile-only bank”. Mashable summed it up as the “bank that’s apparently so cool it’s become a chat up line in London’s bars”. Its own stated ambition is to “build a better bank”. In April 2017, it acquired a banking licence.

But does Monzo actually behave like a bank?

Banks, under one interpretation, are economic inventions which create liquidity from an array of otherwise illiquid assets. Douglas Diamond, the US economist, describes a bank as “a lender financed with demand deposits”. Depositors sacrifice higher returns for the privilege of immediately being able to withdraw their capital whenever they want.

iwoca: We are the UK’s Fastest Growing SME Finance Provider (Crowdfund Insider) Rated: A

Online lender iwoca says it is UK’s fastest growing SME finance provider. The claim comes following the publication of the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 which ranked iwoca 30th on the list.

The Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100, published last Sunday, 9th September 2018. Ranked No. 30 on the ilst – which ranks Britain’s tech firms in regards to the fastest-growing sales. iwoca joins a group of prominent UK Fintechs recognized by the Times.

Proptech Startup Unmortgage Raises £10M in Seed (FinSMEs) Rated: A

Unmortgage, a London, UK-based proptech startup, raised £10m in funding.

Backers included Anthemis Exponential Ventures, and Augmentum Fintech plc.

The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and finance the part of the homes it purchases.

Crowdfunding – looking beyond equity investment (What Investment) Rated: A

At a time when banks were increasingly adopting the ‘computer says no’ approach, entrepreneurs and those involved with company start ups sought different ways of financing their ambitions.

Crowdfunding platforms including CrowdCube and Seedrs emerged, using technology to bring investors and companies thirsty for cash together.

Ten years later there are more crowdfunding platforms than ever, the top 10 crowdfunding platforms in 2018  as listed by What Investment.co.uk’s sister website Growth Businessinclude names such as Seedrs, CrowdCube plus RateSetter, Trillon Fund and Funding Circle.

P2PFN celebrates its second birthday (Peer2Peer Finance) Rated: B

PEER2PEER Finance News launched two years ago today!

The progress that has been made in two years is staggering. Most P2P platforms have become fully FCA authorised and many of them have launched IFISAs – which attracted £290m in the last tax year.

The UK’s largest P2P firms have cumulatively lent out more than £11bn, Zopa is getting closer to its bank launch and Funding Circle is floating on the main market of the London Stock Exchange next month.

China

China’s tech is addicted to debt (Technode) Rated: AAA

China has become addicted to debt. Now, its tech industry is hooked too.

It started innocently enough. Back in 2008, when the fallout of America’s own debt binge was giving the whole world a hangover, China engaged in a decisive and robust economic stimulus, injecting RMB 4 trillion into key sectors of its economy. Banks, mostly state-owned in China, were directed to lend more, particularly to other state-owned firms. As a result, China recovered quickly from the global financial crisis, even as the US and Europe struggled to get back on their feet.

However, even as the Chinese economy recovered, the banks continued to lend, and Chinese companies continued to invest, most notably in infrastructure projects. Not only did they invest, they invested A LOT.

European Union

Spotcap Issues Quarter of a Billion in Credit Lines to Businesses (Spotcap) Rated: AAA

Global fintech lender Spotcap has issued more than EUR 250 million in credit lines since its launch in 2014.

The company combines robust credit assessment principles with innovative technology to offer a smooth and straightforward loan experience. The fintech undertakes cash flow based, rather than credit-score based underwriting, resulting in a fair assessment of the real-time performance of a business.

In the last 12 months, Spotcap experienced more than 100 percent year-on-year growth in the volume of credit lines it provided, growing at a faster pace than the alternative finance industry, which recently experienced 41 percent year-on-year growth in Europe.

International

Fintech investment powerhouse Ribbit Capital aims for $ 420 million with its latest fund (Tech Crunch) Rated: A

Ribbit Capital, the financial technology investment firm whose portfolio includes hits like the no-fee mobile investment platform Robinhood; cryptocurrency wallet and marketplace provider Coinbase; and Root Insurance, the automotive insurance platform that just joined the billion-dollar startup club; is raising $420 million for its latest fund, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The fund would be Ribbit’s fifth foray out with limited partners and its $420 million target is only a nominal increase from the $300 million it had set out to raise for its fourth fund last year.

Coinbase alone is now worth at least $8 billion on paper, and no one laughs when chief executive Brian Armstrong says that his company’s goal is to become the New York Stock Exchange of crypto securities.

Robinhood, another one of Ribbit’s portfolio darlings, is flirting with a $6 billion valuation after its latest funding round earlier this year — and has become synonymous with stock trading for a new generation of investors (despite some criticism about its business model).

 Australia

Fintech Prospa Ranks 6th in LinkedIn Top Startups List (Crowdfund Insider) Rated: AAA

Prospa says it has been named 6th on the 2018 LinkedIn Top Startups List. The list marks the 25 best startups to work for in Australia. Prospa adds that it is the top Fintech on the list as well.

Prospa is an online lender catering to small business. Prospa allows SMEs access to loans between $5,000 and $250,000, with approval and funding within as little as 24 hours.

Now in its sixth year, Prospa has established itself as delivering consistent high growth with a solid customer satisfaction NPS score averaging 77 and customer repeat rates of 69%.

Small business lenders pledge fairness under ASIC’s gaze (The Sidney Morning Herald) Rated: A

Fintech lenders say they’re moving quickly to review and amend any unfair contract terms before the watchdog comes knocking, but there are still questions about best lending practice.

Last week, alternative lender Prospa confirmed it had changed a number of contract clauses after receiving a query letter from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) back in June that arrived just days before the startup put the brakes on its planned ASX listing.

India

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