Fed Officials are taking an increasingly hawkish stance in public comments and minutes released from the recent FOMC indicate that rate hikes could occur “fairly soon.” Fed bank lending data reveals that lending among large banks is, in fact, rising, contrary to the post-Dodd Frank conventional wisdom. We note however that a significant portion of new bank lending consists of financing loans originated by non-banks (via capital efficient senior secured credit facilities and corporate loans).

Heightened interest in regulatory policy changes, increased investor demand, and a recent uptick in deals has spurred large attendance expectations for this week’s SFIG Vegas 2017. CEO Ram Ahluwalia will moderate a headline panel at 3:45PM on Monday, February 27 titled, “The Outlook for Securitization and Marketplace Lending.” Several members of the PeerIQ leadership team will be in attendance—we welcome you to visit our booth or schedule a meeting for an update.

Finally, we encourage you to download our new whitepaper on Data Standards and Best Practices which we release today. Standardization efforts are accelerating. True data leadership calls for more than generic calls for transparency, but rather living it, and thus we are releasing our basic unsecured consumer data model. Our paper, consistent with SFIG guidance released in December, also contains key learnings and best practices culled from our years as the leading data normalization provider for marketplace lending. As this week’s Lending Club grace period policy change highlights, the variation in definitions and policies across platforms, which change routinely, can complicate performance comparisons, increase diligence costs, and ultimately hinder entry of new capital.

Continuing the data theme, on Monday, PeerIQ will announce at SFIG a major new data partnership that will further accelerate data standardization efforts. Stay tuned.

New Hires:

We are excited to announce the following additions to our extraordinary engineering team. The engineering team is focused on a suite of new features and partner data integrations.

Jason Sullivan:

  • Jason is a Software Engineer at PeerIQ, currently focusing on credit facility management solutions. Before PeerIQ, Jason was a quantitative trader with FNY Capital. Prior to that, he was an Associate on the Investment Management team at Rialto Capital, where he analyzed and traded high-yield CMBS. Before Rialto, Jason was a trader of high-yield and investment-grade credit derivatives as a part of the Global Markets Analyst program at Nomura Securities. Jason graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Cognitive Science.

Brian Mason:

  • Brian is a full-stack engineer at PeerIQ, where he works on new features and applications. Prior to joining PeerIQ, Brian was a Senior Software Developer at two data start-ups, Triller and Simple Reach. Brian graduated with both an M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from John Hopkins University. He later completed a second M.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech.

Byran Bonnet:

  • Bryan is a full-stack Software Engineer at PeerIQ, currently focusing on the PeerIQ analytics platform. Prior to joining PeerIQ, Bryan was a technical co-founder and CTO of a digital health startup. Prior to that, he worked as a research assistant at Stevens Institute of Technology. Bryan earned his B.E. in Computer Engineering and M.Eng. in Systems Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Lulu Cheng:

  • Lulu is a Software Engineer at PeerIQ working on data processing. Prior to joining, she worked at McGraw Hill Education as a data analyst. She is a MS in Computer Science candidate at Georgia Tech, specializing in machine learning, and holds a MA in Economics from Syracuse University and a BA in Political Science from National Chengchi University.

 

Conferences

  • SFIG Vegas on February 26-March 1 in Las Vegas. We look forward to seeing many familiar faces. Stop by our booth and say hello.
    • CEO, Ram Ahluwalia will moderate a panel at 3:45PM on Monday, February 27 titled, “The Outlook for Securitization and Marketplace Lending.”
  • LendIt on March 6-7 in New York. Save 15% on your ticket by using PeerIQ’s VIP code: PEERIQ17USA.
    • CEO, Ram Ahluwalia will deliver a keynote address, “Why Securitization and Online Lending are So Important for Each Other,” on March 6 at 10:20AM.
    • PeerIQ will also serve as a judge at the LendIt Awards Ceremony for “Most Innovative Bank”, and “Top Consumer Lending Platform.” PeerIQ is nominated for the “Top Service Provider” Award.
  • 2017 Security Traders Association of New York Capital Market Conference and Dinner on March 30 in New York.

PeerIQ in the News:

Industry News:

  • Synthetic Structure Pitched for Capital Relief (AB Alert, 2/24/17) J.C. Flowers & Co. and Sandler O’Neill & Partners are pitching a program under which community banks could gain capital relief for their holdings of residential and commercial mortgages, among other assets.

In Memoriam: