SocietyOne’s Yetton: loans soar as banks struggle
New SocietyOne chief Jason Yetton says its loan book is healthy despite mixed economic conditions and record loan growth that pushed the nation’s biggest marketplace lender through the $100 million barrier. Mirroring similar trends by other new “fintech” companies, SocietyOne yesterday revealed $30m of new personal loans and agribusiness finance had been written in the first quarter, pushing total lending since August 2012 past $100m. Rival online “peer-to-peer” or “marketplace” lenders, which directly match borrowers with investors, include RateSetter and DirectMoney, which have also been posting record growth. Meanwhile, the banks’ bad debt charges have risen because of the mining slowdown and lending to sectors facing structural challenges, such as […]
Mutual lender partners with fintech hub Stone & Chalk
Leading mutual lender CUA has announced a corporate partnership with growing fintech hub Stone & Chalk. The partnership with Sydney-based Stone & Chalk will give CUA access to the latest technology ideas and innovations emerging from the hub. CUA general manager of business transformation & technology, Sue Coulter said the entrepreneurs working in Stone & Chalk could “dramatically alter” financial services. “There is no doubt that Stone & Chalk has the potential to dramatically alter the financial services landscape in Australia and CUA is excited to be part of this evolution,” Coulter said. “Since opening its doors only eight months ago, Stone & Chalk has quickly cemented its place as […]
Aggregator announces fintech partnership
Liberty Network Services (LNS), the branded distribution arm of non-bank lender Liberty, has partnered with online lender Moula to better service small business clients. Through the partnership with Moula, in which Liberty acquired a part stake in last year, LNS brokers will be able to refer any small business customer directly to the fintech lender through an online portal. LNS managing director, Brendan O’Donnell, said the partnership was formed to meet the growing needs of small businesses that struggle to secure short term finance with the major banks – while also helping brokers to diversify their business. Liberty supplied Moula with $30 million in funding last year to finance its […]
LendIt USA Conference – San Francisco – 11-12 April 2016
Australian FinTech is excited to be a Media Partner for the upcoming LendIt USA conference taking place in San Francisco on April 11-12. LendIt USA is the world’s largest annual gathering of the online lending community where established and emerging platforms, investors and technology providers from around the world come to learn, network and do business. Now in its fourth year, the 2016 event will be the largest online lending expo in history with 4000 attendees. This is your chance to share ideas with innovators and leaders in marketplace lending. Confirmed speakers include: Renaud Laplanche, Founder & CEO, Lending Club Ron Suber, President, Prosper Marketplace Peter Thiel, Entrepreneur & Investor John […]
Fintech company unveils major rebrand
Peer-to-peer invoice financer, The Invoice Market (tim), has unveiled its new branding, new website and a significant upgrade to its online client and funder platform. The chief executive of tim, Angus Sedgwick, said he believes alternative finance and fintech companies will invariably disrupt the financial services market, however, more work needs to be done in awareness – which drove his decision to rebrand tim. “The simple availability of a platform will not create business flow. Much work needs to be done at the coal face to educate businesses about this source of funding,” he said. “Since establishing tim, we’ve invested considerable time in ensuring clients and potential clients appreciate the […]
Online payday lenders under scrutiny following Nimble investigation
Online lenders using algorithms to assess consumer creditworthiness are in the spotlight following action by the corporate watchdog against payday lender Nimble. Nimble has been forced to refund $1.6 million to more than 7000 customers after it was found to engage in irresponsible lending. The corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, said it was continuing its surveillance of the payday industry “as well as other credit licensees and their representatives”. This included any companies providing consumer or business loans, as well as interest-only home loans using online processing. “ASIC has raised concerns in relation to compliance with responsible lending obligations across the spectrum of credit providers generally,” a […]
Alternative finance booming in Australia
Australia’s alternative finance lending market is the third largest in Asia Pacific after experiencing growth of 320% in 2015. According to a new survey, Harnessing Potential, Asia Pacific Alternative Finance Benchmarking Report, Australia’s alternative finance lending market ballooned to US$348 million in 2015. Australia was trailing China, which reported US$101.69 billion over the same period, and Japan, which reported US$360 million. The largest share of Australia’s alternative finance market volume was balance sheet business lending, which accounted for over US$120 million in 2015. This was followed by invoice trading (US$105 million) and marketplace/P2P consumer lending (US$43m) in 2015. Marketplace or P2P business lending volume reached $7.05 million in 2015. Source: […]
LendIt USA Conference April 11-12
Australian Fintech is excited to be a Media Partner for the upcoming LendIt USA conference taking place in San Francisco on April 11-12. LendIt USA is the world’s largest annual gathering of the online lending community where established and emerging platforms, investors and technology providers from around the world come to learn, network and do business. Now in its fourth year, the 2016 event will be the largest online lending expo in history with 4000 attendees. This is your chance to share ideas with innovators and leaders in marketplace lending. Confirmed speakers include: · Renaud Laplanche, Founder & CEO, Lending Club · Ron Suber, President, Prosper Marketplace · Peter Thiel, Entrepreneur & Investor · John […]
