Money360 is a marketplace lender for commercial real estate; in Q2 the company closed $143 million in loans making Q2 the company's largest quarter; to date the company has closed $350 million in loans and expects to surpass the $500 million mark by the end of the year; the press release provides further information about the deals closed. Source
Elevate Credit reported its second quarter earnings results on Monday, July 31; revenue for the quarter was $150.5 million, increasing 18.7% from the comparable quarter; earnings per share were $0.08, increasing from a loss of -$0.59 in the second quarter of 2016; business highlights noted in the earnings release included over $200 million in total principal outstanding with more than 120,000 open accounts, the launch of Elevate Labs and the introduction of the RISE line of credit product in Kansas. Source
Patrick McHenry is working with a Senate Democrat on a bill for fintech beta testing; he introduced the Financial Innovation Act in the House of Representatives in 2016 which did not advance; the Financial Innovation Act included the creation of innovation offices with 12 regulatory agencies; he says the 2017 version of the act will include "significant changes and revisions"; he plans to introduce the new bill in two months. Source
FinTex Chicago is launching Currency on June 1; Currency is a new initiative from the nonprofit group that will provide a new resource for startups; Currency will be located at WeWork on 20 W. Kinzie Street and will potentially rent some of its 32-desk space; Currency is expected to be a gathering place for fintech startups, academics, regulators and established firms in Chicago, according to Jason Henrichs, co-founder of FinTex Chicago; Currency and its partners also plan to share online resources and offer programming on the fintech regulatory environment. Source
Robinhood has announced details of its latest funding round which raised $110 million for the firm giving it fintech unicorn status with a valuation of $1.3 billion; investors in the Series C funding round included DST Global, NEA, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital and Greenoaks Capital; the firm also announced that it now has over two million users; the firm says: "Our two million users have transacted over $50 billion and saved nearly half a billion dollars in commission fees. Robinhood Gold, our margin and extended hours service, is also experiencing significant growth, with signups surging 17% month over month."; the firm plans to use funds from the Series C funding round for expansion of the platform's products and services. Source
Ron Suber has been involved with Credible since 2015, investing in both the Series A and Series B rounds as well as acting in an advisory role; Suber will now spend about one day per week helping Credible in a broad range of activities from fundraising to helping the team as the company grows; Credible CEO Stephen Dash noted that despite headwinds many other industry participants faced, Credible continues to grow; Ron Suber will play a role in navigating the growth they expect going forward; the company also announced a pilot for a credit card marketplace which launched today. Source
The New York Business Journal reports on CB Insights' venture capital data by state noting that fintech investment in New York companies decreased by 35% from the previous quarter to $253 million while deals increased to 24 from 19; three New York City companies, Namely, Trumid and Payfone, were among the top 10 US fintech deals; Namely was second in top fundraisings with $50 million. Source
American Banker reports on the increasing number of financial services companies and groups using the federal court system to oppose regulatory enforcement orders and new initiatives; the Conference of State Bank Supervisors is the most recent case as the group seeks to debate the OCC's fintech charter; the CFPB has also been a notable defendant with opposition from Ocwen Financial and PHH Corp.; other cases have included MetLife and the American Bankers Association; according to H. Rodgin Cohen, chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, "There's an increased willingness to litigate," and it seems the trend is likely to continue with industry changes resulting in new challenges and consequences. Source
Opposition to the OCC's fintech charter continues with a new lawsuit filed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors which says the OCC does not have the legal authority to issue the fintech charter that it has proposed; the lawsuit says the OCC will need "specific congressional approval" for the charter and that nondepository companies are not considered to be engaged in the business of banking; preemption of state consumer protection laws has evoked strong opposition to the OCC's fintech charter and the lawsuit by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors is the first court action taken by an opposing party; the OCC's financial inclusion provisions, lack of clarity on state mandated requirements such as interest rate caps, default rate limitations and underwriting standards, and lack of detail on business factors including capital requirements and other balance sheet measures have caused decreasing support for the charter overall. Source
Recent comment letters in response to the OCC's fintech charter show increased criticism for the agency's proposal; consumer protection groups, community banks and state regulators have all voiced opposition while supporters have been disappointed by the process for the charter; supporters are concerned that financial inclusion plans and other provisions for the charter might be overly burdensome; consumer protection provisions are also a point of emphasis with groups suggesting specific consumer protection measures such as interest rate caps, default rate limitations and underwriting standards; lack of details on a number of business factors including capital requirements and balance sheet versus off balance sheet funding have also reduced confidence in the charter. Source