Capify secures $135 million from Goldman Sachs for SME loans
Capify, a leading Australian alternative SME finance provider has secured a $135 million credit facility from Goldman Sachs Private Capital (“Goldman Sachs”) to support its future growth plans and provide working capital to thousands of Australian SMEs over the coming years. The Sydney-based fintech company will use the new facility to accelerate the growth of its lending business to Australia SMEs through its business loan and merchant cash advance (MCA) products. Capify has been active in Australia since 2008, executing over 7,500 transactions for Australian SMEs seeking business financing and most recently celebrated its ten-year anniversary. “This is a landmark achievement for Capify and we are very pleased that we […]
Fintech trends and predictions for 2019
Fintechs are big, growing and are disruptive. Why wouldn’t they be when they are using innovative technologies making banking and financial services more efficient. So what are the predictors and futurists saying the landscape will look like in 2019 and beyond? Here’s a collection of some of the sources we think are on point! Bitcoin is Just the Beginning The Australian predicts that Bitcoin is Just the Beginning and that the “fintech” revolution is upon us – but we may only be at the start of it. Highlights include: “Financial technology is not only changing the way people purchase and invest, it’s changing the very definition of money as well.” […]
Swiss watchmaker develops $100K timepiece with built-in crypto wallet
Swiss-based watchmaker A. Favre & Fils is developing a luxury timepiece that would be able to store cryptocurrencies, local media agency swissinfo.ch reported on Thursday. The company traces its history back to 1718 and can be viewed as one of the oldest watchmakers in Switzerland. It intends to build a new form of digital wallet that would have mechanical elements integrated. The crypto watch would combine the current technology behind digital assets with Switzerland’s traditional craft. The cost of one unit will range between $102,000 and $153,000. Laurent Favre, founder and CEO of A. Favre & Fils, told the media that the company planned to make the mechanical watch relevant […]
‘Collaboration’ key to seeing full potential of AI
New calls have been issued for the finance industry to change its mindset and embrace “greater collaboration” to leverage the full potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology. Education provider Kaplan Professional and regtech company Red Marker issued the call after noting that the financial advice industry had been looking for automated compliance solutions given that new reforms require financial advisers to be covered by a compliance scheme by 1 January 2020. However, before an artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning solution is put in place, the automated solutions are not a panacea for all compliance needs, Kaplan Professional and Red Marker suggested. According to the two bodies, financial […]
More investors taking on smart beta ETFs
Research from VanEck reveals that investors are increasing their allocation towards smart beta ETFs, as opposed to market capitalisation and active strategies. Smart beta cumulative net flows as a percentage of total flows has grown from 11.7 per cent to 21.7 per cent between 2016 and 2018, according to VanEck’s ETF IQ Scorecard for December 2018. “By strategy, smart beta ETFs are gaining in popularity, now accounting for about one-quarter of all inflows at $1.6 billion over the year to date, as investors seek targeted investment outcomes and wealth-building strategies not offered by traditional ETFs, which track market capitalisation indices,” VanEck said. Meanwhile, net flow allocation to active exchange-traded products […]
ANZ Bank buys into online mortgage broker Lendi
ANZ Banking Group has taken a strategic stake in online home loans platform Lendi. Street Talk understands ANZ paid close to $40 million for a minority stake, to become Lendi’s second largest strategic shareholder behind fellow Australian financial services giant Macquarie Group. Importantly for Lendi, which has 37 banks and lenders on its open home loans platform, the business will continue to be run independently and at arms length to its strategic investors. ANZ will not be given a board seat, as consistent with Lendi’s treatment of Macquarie and other strategic investors including Pepper. It is understood ANZ agreed to write the cheque after spending much of last year talking […]
HSBC used blockchain to settle $250B worth of trades
HSBC has settled $250 billion worth of forex trades using blockchain in the last year, it said on Monday, suggesting the heavily hyped technology is gaining traction in a sector until now hesitant to embrace it. The bank has settled over three million forex trades and made over 150,000 payments since February using blockchain, it said in a statement. HSBC would not give data on forex trades settled by traditional processes, saying only that those settled by blockchain represented a “small” proportion. Still, the data marks a significant milestone in the use of blockchain by mainstream finance, which has until now been reluctant to start using the technology at any […]
Robo-advice growth a worldwide trend
A new survey reveals the robo-advisory is increasing in competition across both the Asia-Pacific and European markets. Research from data and analytics company GlobalData’s Wealth Managers Survey found that the robo-advisory market is increasing in competition globally, with more start-ups entering the wealth management industry year by year. According to GlobalData wealth management analyst Sergel Woldemichael, traditional wealth managers across the globe in previous years had a widespread level of agreement that robo-advice would seize market share. “However, as of 2018, the level of agreement that Asian-Pacific and European wealth managers will lose market share to robo-advisors is beginning to align,” Mr Woldemicheal said. To read more, please click […]
