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 Small Business Relief Program Is Still Broken by Politico – I have seen many ideas on how the PPP loan program should be improved. But this piece by Aaron Klein in Politico is one of the best. I would just add allowing fintech lenders access to Fed capital directly.
How big banks decided the futures of America’s small businesses: The inside story of how $349 billion in government cash was doled out in just 12 days, leaving thousands of entrepreneurs without relief by Business Insider – Good in-depth analysis of what actually went on in round one of the PPP.
Mark Cuban’s alternative to PPP: Fed-backed overdraft protection by American Banker – So Mark Cuban continues to come up with creative ideas. Here he is promoting a Fed-backed overdraft protection scheme as an alternative to the PPP.
SoFi Facilitates PPP Support To Members During COVID-19 by PR Newswire – Even SoFi is getting into PPP assistance. Their Lantern product will help small business owners apply for loans.
Buy now, paying later startups are surging. But Affirm CEO Max Levin says the industry will see a shakeout as the pandemic hits borrowers. by Business Insider – Not every lender is struggling today. While many consumer lenders are hunkering down with a significantly tighter credit box Affirm is looking at expansion opportunities.
Christian Faes Founder and Chairman of LendInvest Comments on UK Government Support of SMEs During COVID-19 Crisis by CrowdFund Insider – Interesting commentary by Christian Faes on the UK government COVID-19 response and how the non-bank lending sector could and should be playing a bigger role.
Federal Reserve expands access to its Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF) to additional lenders, and expands the collateral that can be pledged by The Federal Reserve – This week The Fed announced an expansion of the PPP Liquidity Facility. It will now be available to additional lenders as in “all PPP lenders approved by the SBA”. About time.
RBS abandons Monzo-challenger Bó by Yahoo News – Not exactly a surprise but Bó, the UK digital consumer bank of RBS launched less than six months ago, is shutting down after failing to get much traction.
OnDeck sharply curtails lending as delinquencies mount by American Banker – While these are ugly times for small businesses, it is brutal for the small business lenders. OnDeck reported earnings this week with DQs rising to 27% in March and 45% in April.
COVID-19 Drives Digital Adoption, But Still Leaves Millions Behind by Forbes – While digital banking is in vogue today like never before Jennifer Tescher reminds us many are still being left behind. And this crisis is only widening the digital divide. The fintech industry needs to take note.
Peter Renton is the chairman and co-founder of LendIt Fintech, the world’s first and largest digital media and events company focused on fintech. Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010 and he is the author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, the first and longest-running fintech interview series. Peter has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The New York Times, CNBC, CNN, Fortune, NPR, Fox Business News, the Financial Times, and dozens of other publications.