Online lender Prospa delays float 30 minutes to listing
The sharemarket float of online lender Prospa has been postponed about half an hour before the planned listing, after the corporate watchdog wanted further details of its small business loan contracts. Prospa and its joint lead managers – investment banks UBS and Macquarie – said the 48-hour delay was because it was “seeking to clarify queries raised by ASIC yesterday in relation to Prospa’s small business loan terms,” as part of a wider review. “Prospa was first contacted yesterday by ASIC in relation to its industry-wide review of small business lending – bank and non-bank. The review covers a range of topics,” a Prospa spokeswoman said. “We take our legal […]
Wisr launches employee financial wellness solution: Wisr @ Work
Neo lender Wisr has launched a financial wellness program aimed at helping businesses combat one of the biggest causes of workplace stress, personal financial difficulties. Called Wisr @ Work, this program allows businesses to provide staff with online tools, education materials and debt reduction applications to help employees take control of their money and improve financial wellness. According to a Wisr survey of 250 Australians, it was found 48% of employees had experienced stress in the workplace because of their personal financial situation. Almost 65% said they had experienced feelings of anxiety or panic at work because of monetary issues, whilst 43% said it impacted their productivity and 35% had […]
Mortgage group’s “mortgage hell” billboard above CBA
Online mortgage startup HashChing is advertising with a billboard above a Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) branch. The home loan marketplace has launched a campaign against the big banks, which includes this billboard in the Melbourne CBD. The slogan reads, “Our brokers will go to mortgage hell, so you don’t have to”. Mandeep Sodhi, CEO of HashChing, said the new billboard made light of the fact that applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing one can be quite an onerous experience. He added, “By positioning this billboard above a CBA branch, we’re encouraging the 80% of borrowers who are currently with a big four bank to find a better […]
GetCapital announces new partnership with FAST
Leading aggregator Finance & Systems Technology (FAST) has announced the appointment of specialist small business finance provider GetCapital to its lending panel. Founded in 2000, FAST is one of the largest and most established aggregators in Australia, supporting more than 1,300 brokers to arrange over $21 billion in residential and commercial lending for customers annually. Brendan Wright, CEO of FAST, said this latest appointment reinforced the aggregator’s commitment to continually supporting FAST brokers to meet their business clients’ needs. “This announcement is very much aligned with FAST’s strategy to support brokers to cater to SME clients. Business and commercial finance have long been hallmarks of FAST’s unique value proposition, with […]
DomaCom acquires $100m lending facility
Property crowdfunding firm DomaCom and a number of private lenders have partnered to provide the DomaCom Fund with an initial lending line of $100 million. In a statement, DomaCom chief executive Arthur Naoumidis said the lending facility would allow the company to purchase up to $250 million in property. “We have been seeking a default lending solution for our platform for three years as it is clear that advisers are seeking to use debt to deliver long-term tax effective returns for their clients,” he said. “In addition to the recently announced capacity to being able to crowdfund their own debt, advisers can now simply select the debt level they are […]
How this fintech startup chief facilitated $50 million in Australian business loans without stepping foot in the country
Business loan marketplace Lending Express launched in Australia in 2016, and since then it’s facilitated $50 million in small business loans. But it was only last month that co-founder and chief executive Eden Amirav first set foot on Australian soil. Now the Israeli startup has secured $US2.8 million ($3.7 million) in funding, Amirav has plans to further improve the artificial intelligence-enabled platform, and to get his message to even more Aussies. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Lending Express connects small businesses seeking loans with alternative lenders. The business owner fills in an application via the online platform, and Lending Express runs an algorithm, immediately identifying the lenders that would […]
Tic:Toc boss calls out HEM issues and ‘questionable’ third parties
The CEO of online mortgage lender Tic:Toc Home Loans says that no human judgement need enter the equation when it comes to assessing the expenses of a mortgage applicant. With the first weeks of the banking royal commission now behind us, Tic:Toc founder and CEO Anthony Baum believes it has become clear that there is an opportunity for the mortgage industry to reconsider how customers are assessed for finance. “One key flaw that’s been exposed is the failure to conduct basic checks and balances on the applicants’ household expenses. This includes instances where judgement on a customer’s borrowing capacity has been handed to a raft of questionable third parties,” the […]
Wisr announces limit increases to personal loan product
Borrower demand, institutional backing and continued operational improvements support this change Neo lender Wisr announced it will increase its personal loan limits following increased borrower demand, strong institutional lender support and continued improvement to loan evaluation. As of today the company will increase its personal loan limit from $35,000 up to $50,000(1), with a comparative interest rate up to 5% p.a. lower than the Big Four Banks(2). Loans will be available for any worthwhile purpose over three or five years, with a comparison rate of 9.36% p.a.(2, 3, 4) for borrowers with strong credit rating and with a Wisr personal loan there are no early repayment or exit fees. Anthony […]
