US fintech SoFi targets mortgage lending in Australia
One of the best-funded financial technology companies in the US, SoFi, is preparing to launch in Australia to offer mortgages in direct competition with the banks. In recent days, the San Francisco-based SoFi has used LinkedIn to advertise for a manager of mortgage operations, based in Sydney, along with an operations manager and a marketing manager. The pending opening in Sydney would be SoFi’s first office outside the US, where it has funded more than $US7 billion in student loan refinancing, personal loans and mortgages since it was founded in 2011. Over the past two years, SoFi, which used to be called Social Finance, has raised $1 billion in new […]
Top 5 Fintech and Banking Trends for 2017
FinTech Competition Will Drive Banking Transformation FinTech companies are competing with banks on a number of levels including peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, lending, saving, and investing. Banks should especially be worried about the fact that 33% of millennials don’t believe they’ll need a bank in the next 5 years, and almost 75% of millennials reported that they are more interested in financial offerings from Google and Amazon that from traditional nationwide banks. For banks to continue to compete, they’ll need to make sure they are providing better services and customer experiences than both their bank competitors, but also upstart FinTech companies. Continued Shift From In-Branch to Digital Channels Millennials are […]
FinTech: UK Vs Australia
by Matthew Parker, The MitchelLake Group Having recently moved from the UK to Australia, I have been excited to observe and experience first-hand some of the differences between the UK FinTech ecosystem and that of its Antipodean cousin. I do not, by any means, pretend to be an expert, but I have had the privilege of working with and alongside some of the most exciting FinTech businesses and individuals across multiple markets. Any observation I am able to draw comes from a place of passion and sincere enthusiasm as well as a helpful dose of experience. So without further ado, let’s compare and contrast. The UK hit its stride at […]
SocietyOne hits $200m milestone as growth accelerates
Total lending reaches $200 million since inception after record month in November Loan book up 315% in 2016 to $126 million Record quarter of lending in the three months to December 2016 New Chief Marketing Officer appointed SocietyOne, Australia’s leading and fastest-growing marketplace lender, has achieved another key milestone after breaking through the $200 million lending mark. The last three months of the 2016 calendar year have witnessed the strongest growth in the company’s four-year history with an additional $50 million of lending made between the first weeks of September and mid-December. November saw a record month of more than $15.3 million in lending. That took the total […]
ASIC lets the fintech start-ups out of the sandbox
The corporate regulator will today release its eagerly anticipated regulatory “sandbox” policy for fintech companies, enabling start-ups to test their products and services for a limited period without having to hold an Australian financial services license. ASIC released a consultation paper in June and has now completed its regulatory guidance, with commissioner John Price set to cut the ribbon. As with all these processes, the fintech industry hasn’t got everything it wanted. However, the final version from an industry perspective is said to be an improvement on the draft, putting in place a sound platform for future improvements. For a start, the AFS licensing exemption is believed to have been […]
Turnbull says fintech is switched on
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has sought to reassure leaders of the wealth-management industry that the government is committed to reducing red tape and fostering innovation. This comes as the government looks to the booming financial services sector to pick up the slack from declining mining industry revenues and boost economic growth. The latest set of national accounts, released last week, showed that over the three months to September 30, gross domestic product (GDP) recorded the slowest quarter of growth since the global financial crisis nearly a decade ago. A 0.5 per cent fall in GDP over the September quarter, which pushed the annual growth rate down to just 1.8 per […]
5 Tips For Better Understanding Peer-to-Peer Property Lending in Australia
As a bumper year for property investment comes to a close, emerging trends towards non-bank finance in the property space gather steam heading into the new year. Developers need more funds to deliver their projects as the major banks pull back on finance. As more investors get comfortable with researching higher yielding investment opportunities, we take a look at the key things you need to know about ‘Peer-to-Peer’ (P2P) debt-style lending in the Australian property market. Don’t Chase High Returns If a debt offering is returning 18-30% and is a mezzanine type, deal chances are it is extremely risky. A developer is only paying this pain money as a […]
Media mogul-backed bank challenger close to breaking even
SocietyOne, a peer-to-peer lender that is partly owned by Rupert Murdoch, Kerry Stokes and James Packer’s companies, expects to start making profits within the next 12 to 18 months. The start-up lender has in recent years been heavily investing in marketing, technology and new staff as it seeks to establish peer-to-peer lending on Australia’s financial landscape, pinching some of the profits banks make from the $100 billion personal credit market. After a year of rapid loan growth, chief executive Jason Yetton said the lender now faced the prospect of breaking even, though this would depend on how much it invested. “We think it can reach profitability over the next 12 […]
