Urjanet has raised $20 million in new financing for its utility focused data services business; the firm tracks utility data from 4,000 utilities in 30 countries and plans to expand its data services for utility payments to lenders seeking alternative credit data; investors in the recent funding round included Oak HC/FT, Grotech Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Imlay Investments and the Georgia Research Alliance. Source
News Roundup
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had a heightened presence in 2016; it was involved in governance for payday lending and marketplace lenders, it also declared a $100 million fine for Wells Fargo and was declared unconstitutional by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court; the CFPB's structure and authority will be a factor for 2017; a marketplace lending retrenchment in 2016 also included a number of new lessons centered around governance and alternative forms of platform investment; decreased confidence and increasing platform defaults will be factors to watch for marketplace lending in 2017 while increasing credit defaults overall, and specifically in auto loans, could also be influential. Source
AltFi Data is the leading public provider of data for the marketplace lending industry; its data platform, AltFi Data Analytics, aggregates data from originators in the UK, Europe and the US; AltFi Data manages indices and publishes analytics reports with support from the data platform; the addition of data from Prosper will make the platform's reporting more robust for the industry. Source
Marketplace lending data analytics provider AltFi Data has partnered with Lendix and will incorporate the lender's data on its analytics platform; AltFi Data is a leading performance data provider for the marketplace lending industry providing a single methodology for calculating platform performance across all lenders; its data reporting includes a range of attributes and data points including net returns, benchmark comparisons, originations, lending rates and charge-off rates. Source
AltFi Data has raised new capital and formed an advisory board; the new initiatives will help AltFi Data launch new products, increasing analytical tools and market transparency; the board’s advisors bring experience in market data and investing. Source
Includes data from the UK, EU and the US; AltFi projects €2.8 billion to be lent in Europe in 2018 and £7.5 billion in the UK; this would represent a year over year increase of 73% and 43% respectively; overall 2017 was a bounce-back year for the marketplace lending industry across the globe. Source
2016 could be the alternative finance industry's first net negative year according to AltFi; uncertainty in capital investment was a substantial factor for the first time causing a renewed focus on retail investment; CEO turnover has been a significant factor with Renaud Laplanche's resignation a catalyst for decreased investor confidence; regulators have also caused market uncertainty with new regulations potentially adding compliance burdens for alternative finance businesses; macroeconomic factors including Brexit and the US presidential election have also increased pressure on alternative finance; despite hardships, sentiment for 2017 is mostly positive with 2016 seen as only a temporary retrenchment. Source
In his interview with AltFi, Laplanche reflects on his experience at LendingClub...
American Banker reports on the lobbying group called Financial Innovation Now and that some technology giants are meeting individually with government agencies; Amazon met with the OCC starting in the second quarter of 2016 and met again this year; PayPal has also met with OCC officials in several quarters last year. Source
Amazon will now allow customers to add cash to their Amazon accounts through barcode scans at participating retailers throughout the US; funds will be immediately available for use; the firm says the initiative is expected to target underbanked customers; Morgan Stanley says the announcement could decrease the chances of the firm partnering with PayPal for payments which is a deal the market has been potentially anticipating between the two companies. Source