Auswide Bank lends $60m, takes 20pc in MoneyPlace
Auswide Bank is offering $60 million in personal loans over five years via fledgling peer-to-peer lender MoneyPlace along with a 20 per cent stake in the start-up to boost its personal loans to younger borrowers. Martin Barrett, the managing director of the small, listed Queensland bank, which has a loan book of about $2.4 billion, said it had been in talks with MoneyPlace about investing in and via the platform for about a year while it was seeking its credit licence from the corporate watchdog. “What the P2P guys have to offer is something that is more advanced and capable than what we would be able to put into the […]
Ellerston Capital plans VC fund to target disruptive technologies
The Ashok Jacob-chaired Ellerston Capital plans to raise tens of millions of dollars early next year for a new venture capital fund, to be known as Ellerston Ventures, which will invest in disruptive technologies. Ellerston — which has more than $4 billion under management and runs eight funds including a new Asian listed investment company — has long had a venture capital arm that invests in what it calls “special opportunities’’. Now it wants to launch a new VC fund to take advantage of opportunities arising in the technology sector, especially the fintech space. Source: Ellerston Capital plans VC fund to target disruptive technologies
More Aussie funds available for fintech start-ups
Australian fintechs say despite Atlassian choosing Nasdaq to make its $8 billion raising, Australia is becoming one of the biggest sources of funding for them with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull an important catalyst. “This is our fourth year. Four years ago we talked to a number of Australian investment groups and there was very limited interest for a company trying to disrupt financial services,” said Beau Bertoli, the co-chief executive of small business lender Prospa. “In the last 12 months we have seen a huge swing the other way. There is not just offshore but onshore money and we should see a flurry of money coming into the industry in […]
First State Super commits $250m to fintech
Speaking at Sydney fintech hub Stone & Chalk yesterday, Prime Minister Turnbull said the $250 million partnership between First State Super and H2 Ventures “recognises there has been an insufficient appetite to date for this type of risk in Australia”. “But that is changing. There is $2 trillion in superannuation assets. As we start to see more investors in innovative ventures we will see the fruits of that,” Mr Turnbull said. “We’ve seen this year an explosion in venture capital funding, with more than $400 million raised so far. “That’s expected to rise to $600 million by the end of this financial year. That’s the highest amount raised in seven […]
Fintech raises over $500,000 as it gears up for advice service expansion
Australian fintech and wealth manager, BigFuture, has completed a $520,000 capital raising as it looks to build its service capabilities. Co-founded by Michael Clancy, chief executive of Qantas Super, BigFuture’s cloud-based application allows users to view a “one page snapshot” of their financial position, improve their financial literacy and plan for their financial future. The app’s stochastic Monte Carlo simulation enables members to plan how they want to spend their wealth and then provides an analysis regarding the likelihood of this lifestyle being funded, allowing users to manage risk and see how it affects their personal retirement and savings. According to BigFuture’s chief executive, Donald Hellyer, all new investors in […]
Rakuten creates $US 100 million global fintech venture fund
Rakuten, a Japanese internet giant, has announced the creation of a $140 million fund to invest in financial technology companies around the world. Australians may know Rakuten best through Viber, which it acquired for $US 900 million last year. The company has already made several investments in the fintech space – like Currency Cloud, WePay and Bitnet. Rakuten has begun integrating these into its larger systems, using Bitnet to accept Bitcoin as payment for its marketplace. Rakuten was also the second bank to make it possible to transfer money through Facebook. Using its bank to create “Transfer by Facebook”. “The Rakuten FinTech Fund is part of a natural evolution for […]
Mutuals looking to fintech: KPMG
Australian mutuals are embracing innovation and fintech start-ups at an elevated pace, with 62 per cent indicating a willingness to invest in new technologies to improve their business, says KPMG. A recent KPMG survey, Mutuals Industry Review 2015: Time to take off, found that 62 per cent of Australia’s credit unions, building societies and mutual banks (or ‘mutuals’) are inclined to invest in new technologies. KPMG Australia national mutuals leader Peter Russell said: “Because the price of new technologies has come down dramatically due to the lower costs of starting new businesses, good ideas can be turned into business applications at a fraction of the cost of five years ago.” […]
Bitcoin lures as investors fret over uncertain markets
Investors appear to be increasingly turning towards bitcoins, rather than gold, as the best way to protect themselves against unpredictable financial markets. Worries that the US Federal Reserve could make good on its threat to raise interest rates before the end of the year pushed gold to a three-week low overnight, with the price of the precious metal dropping 2.4 per cent to $US1,147.30 a troy ounce. Although the Fed kept interest rates close to zero at this week’s meeting, it flagged the possibility of a rate rise in December, and this triggered a rise both in US dollar and US bond yields – both of which are negatives for […]
