Weekly Industry Update: Strong GDP Growth, OCC Supports FinTech Charter
By Vy Phan
December 24, 2017


PeerIQ in the News:
- Introducing Sharpe Ratios(PeerIQ), Rated: AAA (LendingTimes, 12/18/17)
Industry Update:
- BofA CEO Sees Few Cracks in U.S. Consumer Credit as Debt Climbs(Bloomberg, 12/21/17) Brian Moynihan is not worried about rising consumer credit in the US as customers continue to make payments, although BofA will set aside higher loan loss reserves in the fourth quarter.
- FHFA seeks input on Fannie and Freddie's credit score models (ASR, 12/20/17) The Federal Housing Finance Agency is weighing whether the GSEs should upgrade to more recent scoring alternatives, eliminating the monopoly that FICO has on credit scoring.
- BankMobile deploys AI, alternative data to lend to thin-file millennials(American Banker, 12/20) BankMobile is planning to use “Powered by Upstart” software-as-a-service to offer its first credit product to graduates and other young consumers with little to no credit history.
- SoFi Now Offering Six-Month Grace Period for Graduates Using SoFi ReFi(CrowdfundInsider, 12/19/17) SoFi announced it is now offering a six-month grace period for graduates using its newly launched SoFi ReFi program.
- Amazon Gets Into Banking -- and Other 2018 Predictions From CFRA(Bloomberg, 12/18/17) CFRA bank analyst says that the online giant may acquire a small or mid-size bank in 2018 to gain a footing in the industry, a story that we have been tracking over the course of this year.
- Subprime Auto Defaults Are Soaring, and PE Firms Have No Way Out(Bloomberg, 12/21/17) A drop in used-car prices, waning car demand, and rising delinquencies have made PE exits difficult, although ABS with high credit protection are still faring well in this environment.
Lighter Fare:
- Long Island Iced Tea Soars After Changing Its Name to Long Blockchain(Bloomberg, 12/21/17) Long Island Iced Tea Corp. shares rose as much as 289% after the company rebranded itself to Long Blockchain Corp.