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
Wealth managers are beginning to look toward marketplace lending as an asset class; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a panel focused on wealth managers with Three Bridge Wealth Advisors, Lending Club and Glide Capital; the panel focused on making wealth managers look toward marketplace lending as a fixed income alternative and removing the fear factor since it is not as well known an asset class; clients of wealth managers are beginning to see this as a high yielding, short duration and low volatility play; thus far originators have not done a great job at providing exposure and understanding to wealth managers, this is beginning to improve; ultimately the asset class is very simple and easy to understand, showing wealth managers this is the key so they can then get clients on board. Source
Scott Sanborn gave a recap of his LendIt USA 2017 keynote presentation and reiterated his excitement and positive outlook for the marketplace lending industry in a blog post; Sanborn identified three key areas of importance: evolving the customer experience, unleashing the platform potential and amplifying core innovations; with a focus on these three things Lending Club plans to see more borrowers and investors as well as a number of new and innovative partnerships fueling its future business growth. Source
Zane Wang shares the contrast of consumer finance in the US and China from 2000 to 2017; in 2000 China had no credit bureau, no decisioning engines but there was a vast market opportunity; this is the opportunity that China Rapid Finance has capitalized on; in recent years there have been many developments in China with more people covered by the credit bureaus and in consumer finance/credit cards; Wang shares the tremendous growth potential that still exists in the Chinese market and their focus on the emerging middle-class mobile active. Source
Banks of all sizes have been trying to figure out how to adapt to the changing landscape and at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a panel to look at the future of digital banking; panelists cover how they see the future of banking, is it mobile only or mobile first, how do millennials help to guide strategies and when life becomes more complex how many different devices do people use; panelists focused on how to leverage social networks and how important digital strategies are to grow your audience; when doing partnerships who really owns the customer, is it the bank or does the customer feel more ownership to the social network or other type of partner; how do you compete with larger incumbent banks and how are smaller more nimble players able to gain market share; the panel also touches on different types of fees, how to make money in the digital age and how smaller firms can keep costs lower as they scale. Source
There is a worldwide problem in that not enough people have access to financial opportunity in underserved markets; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a panel that focused on impact investing and opportunities for the underserved in financial services; panelists discussed the size of the market, how technology has helped to close the gap and why they feel that investing with their hearts and wallets is the better way to go; the discussion talked through the difference between regular investing and impact investing, as well as what investors look for when an opportunity presents itself; technology has allowed for low to middle income families to have a better understanding of their daily financial health and to expect better services; the panel also touched on the risks involved in certain markets, how to assess potential investments in emerging markets and how the local regulatory bodies can play a role; looking at investments beyond the financial return has helped communities around the world and this looks to be a trend that is on the rise. Source
LendIt USA was the first and is the largest conference in the online lending space. Next year marks the fifth...
The creation of a secondary market for marketplace lending loans has been a hot topic recently; if a robust secondary market existed many believe more pension plans, registered mutual funds and other institutional investors would participate because loans would have a price and there would be liquidity for investors; currently marketplace lending loans trade on an over the counter market where many of the panelists currently participate; the panel explores whether whole loans are securities, why that matters and dives deep into the key aspects of a secondary market: price discovery, connecting buyers and sellers and fulfillment. Source
Celent is a research and advisory firm to mid and large sized banks, credit unions and technology providers; the company partnered with FI Navigator to present data on mobile app adoption in banking; we know what the historical channels of branches, contact centers, ATMs, internet and mobile are all about; mobile is becoming an omnichannel platform for both bankers and customers spanning branches, contact centers and ATMs which Bob Meara explores in his presentation; shares that half of retail customers aren't using digital channels, concerns from consumers about digital and mobile channels, and other data about mobile adoption. Source
India has fast become one of the world's most interesting fintech markets; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a fireside chat focused on digital credit for the India population and how their biometric Aadhaar system plays a key role; a few key developments have helped the India population, the ease of acquiring a smartphone and the Aadhaar system; Aadhaar started with an investment by the India government eight years ago and today there is one billion Indians who have an Aadhaar number with key identifiable pieces of information; the government then began linking Aadhaar with the banking system and enlisted fintech firms to begin extending microloans to individuals and SMEs; Aadhaar helps to solve the biggest issue with lending, KYC, by using a retina scan or biometric signature to verify the borrower; the fireside chat also talked through how the lending process worked with Aadhaar and how it has helped to extend credit to a segment of the population that only a few years ago was unable to access capital. Source