We first want to extend a hearty congratulation to Peter, Jason, and all the organizers at LendIt; the conference was excellent, with an incredible list of attendees—the size and scale of the event really captured the growth in the sector. We look forward to next year’s event.
So many themes coming out of the conference, though the unifying message we heard was the increasing funding challenges faced by marketplace lenders to meet their growth. There is still much demand for the paper, but online lenders are competing with other credit spread products to lure hedge funds and asset managers that fueled the first stage of institutional growth. Dan Ciporin gave a great talk on the push to access new retail sources (e.g. wealth managers, RIAs, brokerages). Ram’s securitization talk was standing room only, as securitized paper is needed to access new funding sources that require rated ABS. Platforms are increasingly courting community bank relationships, looking to access the longer tail of banks well positioned to hold whole loans. And as noted below, Morgan Stanley and Prosper are developing new CUSIP certificates to access pensions, insurance companies, and other buyers.
These developments are, of course, not surprising. Our tools are designed to make it easier for platforms to describe their risk to existing and new funding sources, as well as enabling institutional investors more comfort in understanding and pricing that risk.
Conferences:
- For LendIt coverage you may have missed, visit the LendIt site to access the video recordings.
Industry Update:
- 2016 Survey Marketplace Lending (Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP & Wharton Fintech, 4/16) Concerns among observers about the slower rate of growth are not shared by actual investors.
PeerIQ Mentions:
Lighter Fare:
- PeerIQ software engineer, Brendon Villalobos, impresses judges on America’s Greatest Makers. Looking forward to episode 3 this Tuesday!
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