The FIBC was founded in 2012 and holds a conference in Japan; Applications for their FinPitch competition are now open; event will include pitches from 30 organizations to a global audience; the event takes place on March 2, 2018 in Tokyo. Source
Recent IPO filings by some Chinese unicorns has revealed companies who misrepresented the amount they raised in venture funding; Jianpu Technology is reported to have inflated their capital raising's and Qudian is under pressure for potentially disclosing incorrect bad-loan ratios; Chinese regulators have begun looking more closely at consumer lenders and the recent surge in potential IPOs might take a hit with the bad news trend. Source.
OnDeck released their third quarter financial results today; originations were up 14% from the previous quarter to $531 million; firm plans for GAAP profitability in the fourth quarter and hinted at a new bank partnership for 2018. Source
After being ordered to shut down by regulators China’s bitcoin exchanges are pivoting to the over the counter market; OKEx and Huobi Pro announced they will introduce P2P trading that supports fiat currencies according to CoinDesk; Huobi Pro might also look to expand overseas. Source.
Community banks feel the pressure from fintech companies and big banks as technology is changing the way banks operate; a recent SourceMedia survey of 304 chief information officers of banks, credit unions and other financial services firms says 70 percent plan to invest more in technology in the near term; they are digitizing lending, making document collection easier, investing in mobile app technology and more. Source.
- JD Finance Announces JD Financial Cloud“Fintech as a Service” to empower financial institutions with enhanced precision marketing and risk management capabilities
- LendKey Forms Partnership with Allied Solutions to Offer Digital Lending & Loan Participation Solutions for Financial Institutions
- China, Australia sign agreement to share fintech information
- AI-driven finance app Douugh partners Choice Financial for checking account
Tearsheet explores the trend of sub-branding offerings by banks including Goldman’s Marcus, JPMorgan Chase’s Finn and Wells Fargo’s Greenhouse. Source
Square CEO Jack Dorsey tells Fast Company that they are moving full speed ahead with their banking license; Dorsey was recently in New York to unveil Square Register, a hardware device; the company has been lending to merchants since 2014; SoFi recently withdrew their banking application following the scandal surrounding Mike Cagney; a timeline for the application is not known. Source
Simon Champ is a pioneer in the lending space creating the first publicly traded investment vehicle; P2PGI launched in may of 2014 in a £200 million IPO and they have now raised a total of £900 million; Champ shares how he first became interested in this space and how much the industry has changed since the fund first launched. Source
There has been a lot of bad news for fintech firms when it comes to diversity in the workplace and now a new census from Australia shows that this issue is worldwide; 75 percent of fintech employees are male according to the EY; while speaking at a fintech event Lynda Coker, Founder of CreateCultivate, pointed to some key ideas which could help increase hiring of women and diversify the workplace. Source.