Thomas Curry spent most of his speech at LendIt USA refuting arguments against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) fintech charter and the agency's authority for establishing the charter however controversial factors affecting the charter's implementation were the primary topic for discussion on a LendIt USA panel; while panelists generally agreed that more regulatory clarity is needed for financial innovation overall, panelists were divided on the need for a fintech charter to regulate fintech firms; panelists reported that fintech chartering could potentially promote partnerships with banks through more standardized regulation however it seems the fintech charter is far from ready to match the broad ranging fintech variants for which it's trying to target. Source
Featured keynote speaker Richard Cordray from the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) discussed the Bureau's fintech initiatives at LendIt USA; a video of the presentation can be found here; in prepared remarks Cordray discussed the Bureau's focus on both providers and consumers with three areas of special interest including: consumer-friendly innovations, consumers' control over their personal financial data and the use of alternative sources of data for underwriting loans; recent fintech innovation activity from the CFPB has primarily been centered around its Project Catalyst; on February 16 the CFPB also issued a request for information on the uses of alternative credit data with an open comment period until May 19. Source
In our recent blog post we outline our three audiences in the USA, Europe and China; all of our global fintech conferences highlight the most innovative companies from around the world; at our March LendIt USA conference we are expecting 5,000 attendees in New York City with participants from over 40 different countries; we encourage our international attendees to book their travel plans early; read more about our global audiences in our blog post and contact LendIt to answer any questions you may have about international travel plans or visa letters. Source
Alex Tapscott took the stage on day two of LendIt USA to begin the day with a discussion on how blockchain can help financial services; blockchain technology has the potential to recreate the infrastructure that the financial services industry was built upon and consumers and banks appear to be onboard with the use of the new technology; however its implementation is far from ready and Tapscott says will not be a reality for at least another three to four years. Source
In our recent blog post, we share a list of companies who spoke at LendIt USA 2016; companies came from over 20 countries with strong participation from the major markets including the UK, China, India, Canada and Australia; below we share details on our attendee breakdown by country and segment which illustrates the diverse crowd you'll get to interact with at LendIt USA 2017. Source
PitchIt 2017 was a competition for fintech startups, in exclusive partnership with global venture capital fund 500 Startups, the world leader in investing in and mentoring early-stage fintech startups; the platform nurtures emerging talent in fintech throughout the competition, provides selected finalists with unparalleled access to industry expertise as well as invaluable exposure and branding; eight finalists present their businesses to a panel of select judges who then ask questions to determine a winner. Source
As the global leader in cognitive solutions, IBM's Watson is one of the top artificial intelligence offerings for financial services companies; Brian Walter is IBM's Global Leader of Watson Client Insights and Cognitive Experience for the company's Watson Financial Services Solutions group; Brian Walter gave a keynote speech on Tuesday at LendIt USA and also talked with Forbes about how artificial intelligence is changing the financial world; in his interview with Forbes he discusses the use of cognitive solutions for financial services compliance, customer service and customer acquisition; also talks about IBM's cognitive solutions for supporting banks, fintechs and developers. Source