During a keynote panel at LendIt Europe Funding Circle CEO Samir Desai wondered if incumbent banks who build fintechs are attempting to pull a fast one on customers; the discussion talked about banks building fintech platforms and delivering better customer experiences; they also touched upon some misconceptions in online lending and the main customer lead channels. Source.
The Royal Bank of Scotland's NatWest Brand has announced the launch of direct lending platform Esme; the platform will offer loans up to £150,000 ($187,257) for small and medium-sized businesses with approvals in one hour; NatWest developed the Esme platform internally through an innovation lab; the platform was developed to provide a more competitive loan offering and will also support initiatives for cost reduction. Source