India's CoinTribe has partnered with SMERA Ratings to incorporate a new rating system for its online business lending services; through the partnership CoinTribe will gain access to SMERA's ratings database for micro, small and medium size businesses; CoinTribe plans to integrate the ratings information with its current credit underwriting system for enhanced analytics on business credit loans. Source
OnDeck Capital beat earnings estimates and missed revenue estimates for the second quarter; revenue was $86.85 million, increasing 25% from the comparable quarter; earnings per share were $0.02, increasing from -$0.20 in the second quarter of 2016; loan originations decreased from $589.7 million in the second quarter of 2016 to $464.4 million in the second quarter of 2017; company reported success in acceleration to profitability; expanded online lending partnership with JPMorgan for up to four years; deBanked provides their perspective on the earnings release. Source
Lidya has raised $1.25 million to expand its financing services for small and medium enterprises in Africa; the funding round was led by Accion Venture Lab and will help the company enhance its credit scoring for small businesses and improve access to small business funding; it is targeting $4.9 million in loans for its first year of business. Source
Marketplace lender BlueVine has secured a $75 million credit line from Fortress Credit Corp. and funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC; the firm provides online working capital financing for small and medium-sized businesses; it plans to use the financing to expand its working capital solutions and specifically its Flex Credit product. Source
Payments.com provides an overview of small business lending activity worldwide; SME lending in China increased 17% from a year ago to $3.2 trillion; in London, over half of small businesses report being turned down for a loan; other highlights include SME statistics for Canada, a new SME financing platform from NatWest and rising rates in the US affecting SME borrowers. Source
Experienced credit market executive Kathryn Petralia talks with Crowdfund Insider about fintech and the business growth of Kabbage; the firm has originated approximately $3 billion in loans to 100,000 US small businesses since 2011; it has developed lending partnerships with global banks Santander and Scotiabank; it has also been active in promoting small business lending through its development of the SMART Box in collaboration with the Innovative Lending Platform Association; other highlights from the interview include insight on fintech predictions and regulations, Kabbage's involvement with the Consumer Financial Data Rights group, initiatives within the Innovative Lending Platform Association and Petralia's career advice. Source
Small business loan facilitator, Lendio, has secured $20 million in a financing round led by investment from Comcast Ventures and Stereo Capital; Dave Zilberman of Comcast Ventures will be joining the firm's board of directors following the financing round; the firm seeks to partner with small business lenders in order to help them find the best loan provider for their needs; they currently partner with approximately 75 loan providers; in the third quarter they helped facilitate $63 million in loans for small businesses, an increase of 93% from the third quarter of 2015. Source
The Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index shows another increase in small business approval rates at traditional banks in January with big banks approving a new high of 24% of small business loans; Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora attributes the increase to optimism over the Trump administration's regulatory initiatives for financial services; loan approval rates at small banks were basically unchanged at 48.9%; the loan approval rate for institutional lenders remained at 63.4%; loan approval rates at credit unions decreased to 40.8%; loan approval rates decreased for alternative lenders, with the average approval rate at 58.5%. Source
Growth Street has originated over $67.44 million since its launch in November 2016 with a new CEO and two new executive hires; the firm has now reported 600 new investors on the platform in the five months since its launch; Growth Street provides financing for UK SMEs; the short term financing options appear to be a factor attracting investors; the platform matches borrowers and lenders for 30 days and also allows investors to withdraw funds with notice of 30 days. Source
Fellow Finance is a Finnish P2P lender; the new offering will allow businesses to turn trade receivables into cash; invoices will be placed on the marketplace for investors; the loans will be offered in addition to traditional business loans; Jouni Hintikka, CEO of Fellow Finance, stated: "Financing a trade receivable is one of the easiest and most reasonable ways for companies to acquire working capital. By financing an invoice, a firm immediately receives its money, which accelerates money circulation and supports the growth of the business. The invoice finance service by Fellow Finance is technologically a forerunner compared to traditional services and operators in Europe." Source