Auswide Bank sells stake in MoneyPlace, only two years after investing in online lender
Bundaberg-based bank Auswide is offloading its 62 per cent stake in online lender MoneyPlace only two years after making an investment to “take a position” in the hi-tech sector. The bank said the sale would boost full-year results, and now was “the right time to realise our investment”. Neither the price nor a detailed rationale were revealed, and Auswide had not flagged a sale in recent results. MoneyPlace is a peer-to-peer lender whose online website offers personal loans from $5000 to $45,000 at rates starting at 7.65 per cent.In December 2015, Auswide decided to take an equity stake as well as offer funding for MoneyPlace loans. Auswide will keep funding […]
Victoria to launch two FinTech hubs
The Victorian Government has announced plans to launch two new FinTech hubs in Melbourne in partnership with local hub operators. The partnerships with Stone & Chalk and YBF Ventures (formerly York Butter Factory) will seek to facilitate the development of Melbourne’s FinTech sector. The Stone & Chalk hub will be located at Goods Shed North in Docklands. Already the home to cybersecurity organisations including the CSIRO’s Data61, the hub will be transformed into a FinTech and cybersecurity precinct. Meanwhile the YBF Ventures hub will be located on Bourke Street in the city and will offer a range of advisory services focused on helping FinTech start-ups develop and commercialise business concepts. […]
ATO creates specialist task force to tackle cryptocurrency tax evasion
The Australian Taxation Office is putting together a taskforce of tax experts, lawyers, technology specialists, bankers and financial advisers to help it identify and track cryptocurrency transactions to ensure all taxes are being paid. A top team of industry specialists will work with the tax officials to work out strategies for “following the money” involving transactions using the digital “distributed” ledgers that have no central data storage, which make it difficult to trace and track. The ATO is also believed to be also working closely with banks, Austrac, state revenue offices, which collect revenues, particularly for property transactions, and officials involved with the Black Economy Taskforce, which has been identifying […]
What is a peer-to-peer personal loan?
In 2018, peer-to-peer lenders are expected to significantly grow their share of the Australian personal loan market. Peer-to-peer lenders are now becoming an established part of the lending scene and new lenders are expected to enter in the next year. Alongside the big banks, the regional banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders, the peer-to-peer lenders are offering competitive loan deals and winning thousands of new customers. How does a peer-to-peer personal loan work? Traditional loans from a bank or credit union are made using funds often sourced from depositors. The bank offers the saver an interest rate on their savings and charges the borrower a much higher interest rate on […]
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says he regrets calling bitcoin a ‘fraud’
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon regrets having called bitcoin a “fraud” but would still not be interested in the cryptocurrency, he said in an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday. Dimon, known for his candid comments, slammed the viability of bitcoin in September. “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart,” he had said at a conference. The buzz generated by Dimon’s comments spurred more interest in the alt-currency. Bitcoin rose around 30 per cent in one month following Dimon’s speech, where he also compared the […]
Ethereum price jumps again as it approaches a new all-time high
The price of cryptocurrency ethereum is closing in on a fresh all-time high during European morning trade on Tuesday as its recent rally shows no signs of stopping. Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, crossed $US1,000 per coin for the first time on Friday, and continued to gain over the weekend, surpassing $US1,200 on Monday morning, before hitting a fresh record high of $US1,261.41 at around 5.00 a.m. GMT. The cryptocurrency then dipped a little as Monday’s trade continued, but has climbed once again on Tuesday, hitting a daily high of $US1,217, a gain of roughly 7.5%. To read more, please click on the link below… Source: Ethereum […]
Are central bankers about to burst the bitcoin bubble?
Foreign exchange traders have long been used to “jawboning” from central bankers – that is, using carefully selected words to suggest that they are unhappy with the level their currency is trading at, usually because they consider it over-valued. But the world’s top central bankers have a new target: bitcoin and its fellow digital currencies. And some strongly-worded statements show the depth of their feeling on the subject. A month ago, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe described the fascination with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a “speculative mania”. Later that day, Janet Yellen, the head of the powerful US Federal Reserve described bitcoin as a “highly speculative asset”, noting that […]
Local FinTech Jacaranda Finance commits to providing positive credit reporting data
Following the Australian Government’s announcement of the introduction of comprehensive credit reporting (CCR), many lenders and other financial institutions are following suit with the aim of creating a more accommodating platform for consumers. This platform will allow for consumers to get a better deal from lenders based on a more accurate representation of their own financial circumstances. The foundation of financial lending is built on the concept of helping those in need. However, it is common practice for lenders to enforce a different criteria for consumers with bad credit, as a negative history may lead lenders to question the reliability of the client. In line with responsible lending obligations, […]
