During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

Ranger Direct shares end higher after bowing to activist pressure to wind up from Financial Times – Struggling UK listed fund Ranger Direct Lending looks to be closing its doors.

‘Open banking on steroids’: Monzo launches task automation with IFTTT from Tearsheet – This kind of innovation from Monzo is what is going to make digital banking really useful.

Lending through Funding Circle unlocked 75,000 jobs in 2017 from PR Newswire – New report out shows that Funding Circle loans have helped create 75,000 new jobs in the US and UK in 2017.

Fintech threatens to eclipse banks that do not adapt digitally from Financial Times – Interesting opinion piece in the FT by the Chairman of BBVA about the potential transition of banks into marketplaces as they continue to innovate.

Amazon launches lending platform for sellers from The Economic Times – Interesting news out of India where Amazon India becomes the first country to launch their “seller lending network”, it is like a loan marketplace for Amazon sellers.

PayPal rival Adyen surges 90 percent in IPO with valuation topping $15 billion from CNBC – Fantastic start for fintech platform Adyen as they went public in Amsterdam yesterday and soared almost 90% on their first day of trading.

Platforms shift to auto-lending as demand for diversification rises from Peer2Peer Finance News – In the UK there has been a shift among p2p lending investors to choosing automated investing options at the platforms. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

International P2P Lending Volumes May 2018 from P2P-Banking – The international p2p lending loan volumes are out for May. With Funding Circle UK no longer reporting monthly loan volumes (no doubt in preparation for their upcoming IPO) Zopa has the largest publicly available origination volume.

British fintech startup Revolut to seek U.S. banking license: CEO from Reuters – We all know that UK fintech leader Revolut is coming to the US this year. Now Anna Irrera shares that they will be applying for a banking license as well.

Lendix raises $37 million for its lending marketplace from TechCrunch – French fintech platform Lendix are in growth mode as they close on a €32 million funding round that should see them expand to the Netherlands and Germany by the end of the year.

How student loan companies pretend to be your friend from The Guardian – A view of the US student loan problem from across the pond.

Is Crypto the Most Important Thing Ever? Some People Think So (Podcast) from Appetite for Disruption: The Business and Regulation of FinTech – Want to listen to a crypto evangelist explain exactly how crypto, blockchain, and smart contracts are transforming the world? Then check out this episode of the Appetite for Disruption podcast recorded at the recent LendIt Fintech USA.

Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Launches Global Research to Provide the Most Comprehensive Research on Fintech Available Today from Crowdfund Insider – The fintech industry’s leading research body is the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance. They have launched their annual research initiative across the globe.

BlueVine raises $60 million to give small businesses access to working capital from VentureBeat – The large fintech funding rounds keep coming with BlueVine closing a $60M Series E recently. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

For richer or poorer: why bank M&A is back after 10 quiet years from Financial Times – The return of bank M&A could have an interesting side effect for fintech platforms. I expect we will see more bank->fintech acquisitions as well.

A return to bank-payday lender partnerships? Not on Otting’s watch from American Banker – The OCC wants banks to make short term loans but not as a partnership with a payday lender.

Rising Rates, Reg Reform Bill Passes – VantageScore win, TransUnion Summit 2018 from PeerIQ – The latest PeerIQ newsletter has the latest fintech news and a look at the impact of prepayments and their impact on lender profitability.

Online Lenders Tighten Rules After a Wave of Defaults from Bloomberg – This is not news for Lend Academy readers. Yes, defaults have been on the rise for some time. But there is an interesting graph showing the recent increase in average credit scores at Prosper and SoFi.

Better Get Your AI Game On from Prime Meridian Capital Management – AI and machine learning are transforming many industries. Fund managers in the online lending space are applying it to the vast amounts of data available in an attempt to increase returns.

Why Fintech Should Be Welcomed, Not Feared from LinkedIn – The emergence of fintech in Asia has the potential to impact billions of people by expanding access to financial services like never before.

Former Amex chief backs immigrant credit score provider from Financial Times – Impressive Series A for Nova Credit, $16M from the firm of the former CEO of Amex. Congrats to Misha Esipov and the team on the funding round. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

New Fintech IPO Offers Litmus Test for Online Lenders from The Wall Street Journal – According to Peter Rudegeair GreenSky could price their IPO as soon as Wednesday. They are looking at raising $700M at a $4.2B valuation.

Strong Retail Sales, Prosper Earnings, MFT 2018-2 vs AVNT 2018-A from PeerIQ – The latest PeerIQ newsletter takes a deep dive comparison between recent securitizations from Marlette and Avant.

To Succeed With AI, Invest In Humans from The Financial Brand – Most bankers expect that AI will result in a net gain in jobs within their bank in the next three years but so far the benefits of this technology have lagged expectations.

Online lender Kabbage to launch payment services by year-end from Reuters – While we knew this was coming Kathryn Petralia confirmed that Kabbage plans to offer payment processing services by year end.

Americans Are Prioritizing Phone Payments Over Car Loans from Bloomberg – Interesting idea that Ram Ahluwalia brought up first at LendIt last month. Now Bloomberg reports that there has been a shift in loan payment behavior as people value their mobile phones more than ever.

SoFi will get crypto investing by 2019, says CEO Anthony Noto from CNBC – Looks like SoFi is going to jump on the cryptocurrency bandwagon with members being able to invest as soon as next year.

How SoFi is personalizing its mobile experience from Tearsheet – More on SoFi as Tearsheet profiles their mobile app and their efforts to make it a personalized financial hub for their members. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

LendingClub and OnDeck Earnings, KABB 2017-1 Deep Dive from PeerIQ – The PeerIQ newsletter has LendingClub and OnDeck earnings commentary and a deep dive on the additions to the 2017 Kabbage securitization.

Santander UK to launch digital financing platform for SMEs from BankingTech – Yet another large bank working on a new online lending platform. This time it is Santander with a new small business lending platform in the works.

Banks struggle to combat the cyber crime bad guys from Financial Times – While the financial services industry makes great strides in technology, so too do the cyber criminals. We need to do better in fighting this battle.

Goldman Sachs eyes Germany for expansion of Marcus from Financial Times – The expansion plan for Marcus continues as Goldman Sachs look to launch in the UK shortly and Germany next year.

I’ve Paid $18,000 To A $24,000 Student Loan, & I Still Owe $24,000 from Bustle – Fascinating piece putting a human face on the $1.4 trillion student loan crisis. Many of today’s graduates will be in debt for a very long time.

Former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit Makes $100 Million Investment in Credit-Card Startup from The Wall Street Journal – There are more credit cards available today for underserved borrowers than ever before. Fair Square Financial has entered the fray with a $100M investment from Vikram Pandit.

Consumers Skip More High-Rate Auto Payments Than During Crisis from Bloomberg – Delinquencies from subprime auto have been on an upward trend for years. Now we learn that defaults are higher today than during the worst of the financial crisis. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

Elevate: Providing Responsible Credit to Non Prime Lenders from Crowdfund Insider – Good profile of Elevate in Crowdfund Insider. They are creating an alternative to payday lending for the subprime borrower.

Strong Job Growth, Bank Technology Update, MSRP 2018-SC1 Resecuritization Deep Dive from PeerIQ – The latest PeerIQ newsletter has the recent marketplace lending industry news as well as a look at the resecuritization of a 2015 SoFi consumer loan deal.

Jitters mount as loans from private equity continue to rise from Financial Times – Many credit funds specializing in leveraged loans to medium and large companies have increased substantially in size in recent years.

Better Mortgage Hires Former OnDeck Chief Financial Officer from Business Wire – This is something of a coup for Better Mortgage. They have hired Howard Katzenberg, the former CFO of OnDeck (press release).

How artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs in banking from American Banker – Fascinating in-depth piece by Penny Crosman on how AI is shaping banking today and what the future might look like.

Rebundling the bank: an interview with Renaud Laplanche from AltFi – In AltFi Andy Davis interviews Renaud Laplanche of Upgrade and discusses how banking is being rebundled.

Fintech Shakeout Will See A Lot Of ‘Pets.coms’ Bite The Dust from Forbes – Jesse McWaters of the World Economic Forum says that many fintech companies will fall by the wayside but figuring out who the winners will be is difficult. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

The FTC vs LendingClub, Banking through the Post Office, Dueling Unicorns from PeerIQ – This week’s PeerIQ newsletter covers the important recent topics in fintech including the LendingClub FTC action, comparing TransferWise and Revolut, and more.

SoFi’s Former CEO Harnesses the Blockchain for Home Loan Startup from Bloomberg – We are learning more about Mike Cagney’s new startup, Figure. In Bloomberg Selina Wang reports that Cagney raised $50M in equity and will be using blockchain to originate and package their new home equity product.

Consumer lending is a big part of Goldman Sachs heir apparent’s plan to grow revenue from CNBC – At the Milken Institute Global conference Goldman Sachs president said that the firm’s push into consumer finance represents a big opportunity for the firm.

These Fintech Firms Are Succeeding By Making Finance More Accessible To Everyone from Forbes – One of the largest fintech investors of the past couple of years is CreditEase. Their fintech fund has made 25 investments many with a focus on financial inclusion.

CommonBond Survey Reveals the “Missing Benefit” in Financial Wellness from CommonBond – New study from CommonBond finds that student debt affects people of all ages and that help with student loan repayment is the most requested financial wellness benefit.

Ranger Direct Lending sacks manager and abandons P2P from Citywire – Ranger Direct Lending, the embattled UK listed fund company, is looking to change direction and move away from marketplace lending into asset-backed debt.

Shopify Capital Issued $60.4M in Merchant Cash Advances in Q1 from deBanked – E-commerce company Shopify is starting to ramp up its merchant cash advance business, doing $60M in Q1. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

Strong Bank Earnings, The Copernican Revolution in Banking, PeerIQ’s Securitization Tracker from PeerIQ – The latest edition of the PeerIQ newsletters looks at bank Q1 earnings and the new white paper from Frank Rotman “The Copernican Revolution in Banking”

New record as fintech funding hit $5.4bn globally in Q1 from Silicon Republic – In Q1 fintech funding hit a new record, led by the US, as investor appetite continued unabated according to the new report from CB Insights.

Banks & FIs Are Increasing Their FinTech Acquisitions and Investments from MEDICI – Banks are more heavily involved in fintech than ever before with 7 acquisitions and 35 investments made so far this year according to MEDICI.

Why Marketplace Lending Needs Less Transparency, Not More from PYMNTS – An interesting perspective coming out of a new report from Harvard Business School on marketplace lending, that savvy investors have a big advantage. I think it is less true today than five years ago.

The bank’s view of Open Banking from The Finanser – Good question from Chris Skinner: why can’t banks send a notification when a deposit is received in your account? So simple but it seems that most large banks can’t do that.

SoFi Becomes More Like a Bank without Becoming a Bank from Crowdfund Insider – The first SoFi Money customers are expected to come on board next month, and so the company continues to become more bank-like.

Fintech firm Digit adds credit card debt payment to savings app from American Banker – Savings app Digit is turning its attention to credit card debt, not to offer loans but to help pay the debt down. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

China’s P2P lenders brace for renewed regulatory crackdown from Financial Times – In China a new round of regulations are coming in June that will cause yet more disruption in the p2p lending industry there.

How Credit Karma is using data to become a central finance hub from Tearsheet – Last month Credit Karma acquired personal finance startup Penny to roll out a chatbot for its 80 million customers.

US GDP revised upwards, Citi’s Digital Bank takes on Marcus, PeerIQ’s Credit Facility Management Suite from PeerIQ – This week the PeerIQ newsletter introduces their new credit facility management suite, the growth of digital banking and more.

Funding Circle Expands U.S. Operations with New Office in Denver from PR Newswire – As a Denver resident I was pleased to hear today that Funding Circle has chosen Denver as their second major office in the US. Good move.

International P2P Lending Volumes March 2018 from P2P-Banking – The European p2p lending loan volumes are out and Funding Circle continues to dominate the market there as by far the largest P2P lender.

LendingClub settles with Mass. banking regulator for $2M from American Banker – On the legal front LendingClub continues to work through their legacy issues settling with the MA bank regulator.

Why It’s No Surprise That Online Lender GreenSky Would Weigh An IPO from Forbes – More on the possible GreenSky IPO from the only publication to have done an in depth feature on the company. [Read more…]

During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.

Why OakNorth is posting profits when other challenger banks aren’t from Tearsheet – UK challenger bank OakNorth is different to pretty much all its competitors, it is actually making a profit. Tearsheet has the scoop on how they do it.

Our future with MoneyLion from MoneyLion – The Godfather of fintech Ron Suber has joined the board of MoneyLion. In this post he explains why.

Bank accounts could disappear within 15 years according to one of Deutsche Bank’s most senior execs from Business Insider – The co-head of investment banking at Deutsche Bank sees a very different future for banks after his recent trip to China.

Upstart Seeks $100 Million, Testing VCs’ Appetite for Online Lending from Bloomberg – According to Bloomberg Technology consumer lending platform Upstart is testing the waters on a $100M equity funding round.

Latest weapon in battle for deposits: A digital-only bank from American Banker – Many large banks are creating new brands as they dip their toes into digital-only banking.

Avant Founders Raise $15 Million for Blockchain Firm, Token Sale from Bloomberg – This is really interesting. The Avant co-founders have started a blockchain company to help build out a new ecosystem for identity and credit worthiness.

Exclusive: Revolut to launch business marketplace, but will underwrite its own loans from AltFi – In the UK it looks like popular neo-bank Revolut will be launching a business marketplace which will include offering small business loans. [Read more…]