Online lending startup Earnest said to look for a buyer
Earnest Inc., the financial-technology startup backed by venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, is looking for a buyer as the market for peer-to-peer lending matures, and it struggles to raise new funds. The San Francisco-based company, which offers student loan refinancing as well as personal loans, is shopping itself for about $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Earnest last raised $75 million in equity and $200 million in debt in 2015, bringing the total to just over $300 million since it was founded in 2013, according to research firm CB Insights. The most recent equity financing was led by Battery Ventures, and the debt was led by […]
MarketInvoice secures £45m from Banco BNI Europa
UK-based MarketInvoice has signed an agreement with Banco BNI Europa (BNI), which will now provide £45 million annually to fund working capital for SMEs on the platform. MarketInvoice is now the world’s largest peer-to-peer online invoice finance marketplace, having funded over 70,000 invoices worth more than £1.2 billion since its launch in 2011. Today, the UK business has signed an agreement with Banco BNI Europa (BNI), which will now provide £45 million in funding annually on the marketplace to fund working capital for MarketInvoice customers. BNI trialled an investment last year of £28.3 million, which went into funding SMEs on the platform seeking invoice finance. After the success of that […]
Fintech lender RateSetter lands FTSE 100 heavyweight as new chairman
The chairman of global insurance giant Prudential is joining to board of online lender RateSetter as non-executive chairman. Paul Manduca will join the board of the peer-to-peer lender in June and will become chair on July 17 when current chairman Alan Hughes’ three-year term expires. The appointment represents a coup for RateSetter. Manduca is a well-established figure in the City, as the founding CEO of Threadneedle Asset Management, and the former CEO of Rothschild Asset Management and Deutsche Asset Management. As well as chairing Prudential, he currently chairs the Advisory Council of influential lobby group TheCityUK. The appointment of a veteran of public markets will likely fuel speculation that RateSetter […]
Sun Hung Kai invests US$2b in technology as fintech fiestas spread across Asia
HONG KONG finance company Sun Hung Kai & Co. has made US$2 billion available over two years for investments in financial technology, medical and consumer-facing companies, as noted by the firm’s chief investment officer, Sebastiaan Van Den Berg. The CIO added that the target size of the fund should grow over the next 24 months from its current HK$11 billion (US$1.4 billion) size, and the company hopes to be able to reap 15-20 percent in profit, whether it be debt or equity. The company is considering listing its subsidiary United Asia Finance Ltd. (UA) in order to fundraise an estimated US$500 million, according to a Bloomberg source. This entity currently […]
Bitbond secures £4.2m to fund SME loans
Global bitcoin peer-to-peer lending platform Bitbond has received a €5m (£4.2m) commitment from Obotritia Capital to fund small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans. The Potsdam-based investment firm, which usually channels its funds into German commercial real estate, has also bought an equity stake in Bitbond, although the terms of that deal were not disclosed. With the new debt facility, SME loans will be funded instantly on Bitbond’s platform, reducing the time it takes business owners to apply and receive a loan to 30 minutes. The equity investment will be used for further product development and marketing, to grow Bitbond’s user base. “The debt commitment by Obotritia brings Bitbond to the […]
Swiss Fintechs launch Asia service
Two Swiss fintech companies have launched a service in Asia designed to give local financial-service operators access to robo advisory products. Additiv and Synpulse in the framework of a cooperation agreement developed a three-step process, which will give companies in Southeast Asia and Greater China access to robo advice. The two companies are based in Zurich. The service is levelled at retail and affluent clients, the two fintech companies said in a statement. Change of Strategy in Asian Banking Banks are finding it increasingly hard to grow in the business with the very rich – the so-called ultra high net worth individuals. They therefore are targeting less wealthy client groups […]
Assetz Capital attracts £10m of new investment in three weeks
Assetz Capital has seen more than £10m of new investment in peer-to-peer loans following a rise in the interest rate on its 30-Day Access Account. The platform announced last month that it would be increasing interest rates for investors on its 30-Day Access Account by 0.5% to 4.75% for a limited time. Investors still have until midday on 11th May to take advantage of the new rate. “Due to strong borrower demand, we decided to temporarily raise the target rate on our 30-Day Access Account,” said Stuart Law, CEO of Assetz Capital. “This has gone against the grain in a period where many P2P platforms have been dropping rates. “It’s […]
Robo Advice: Better Than No Advice?
The proliferation of Robo-Advisors bringing low priced financial services out into the market has received significant buzz over the past few years. As is customary with all new things, one must ask questions before buying into it. As a Certified Financial Planner, my question is: Does Robo Advice have true value to the average consumer? My answer: A definitive “maybe.” The road to good advice lies in a tangle of issues that can easily sway the answer from a strong “avoid at all costs” to “yes, there’s value there.” According to Wikipedia, “Robo-advisors are a class of financial advisers that provide financial advice or portfolio management online with minimal human […]
