Banks are seeing a slide in demand for loans — at the same time that they’re tightening lending standards. And the pressures, as noted in the most recent Federal Reserve survey of loan officers through the “Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices,” have impacted all manner of loan types, spanning commercial and
Phone, keys, wallet. That’s the daily routine that tens of millions if not billions — of people undergo each morning when checking their pockets or purses before they leave their homes to start the day. And with the recent news that telecommunications giant Vodafone is planning to integrate cryptocurrency wallets and blockchain-based payment solutions directly into mobile phone
Bots account for a vast majority of stablecoin transactions, recent Visa research shows. Fewer than 10% of these transactions come from genuine users, according to a new metric from Visa and Allium Labs, showing that just $149 billion of the $2.2 trillion in total transactions last month came from “organic payments activity.” The findings were flagged in a report Sunday (May 5)
Private equity companies are reportedly stepping up efforts to compete with banks on low-interest loans. For example, the Financial Times (FT) reported last week, Apollo Global has increased its long-term forecasts for its lending business, telling investors it expected to be able to originate more than $200 billion a year in new loans, up from $150 billion. Apollo Co-President
Cryptocurrency startups are reportedly engaging in aggressive fundraising as the digital asset space recovers. As Bloomberg News reported Saturday (May 4), this approach entails an open-ended form of fundraising that keeps money flowing and fast-tracks valuations. It’s the opposite of the standard venture capital strategy of low-key rounds spaced out over years. “When a deal
Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, is ultimately a crypto story. And like all crypto stories, it has its downs — and its wild ups. Coinbase reported earnings per share of $4.40 Thursday (May 2), compared to Wall Street expectations of $1.28, representing a 244.83% beat. The crypto platform beat Wall Street revenue estimates as well, by a comparatively more modest 19.74%.
At a time when every financial decision counts, many small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can at least take some comfort knowing there are a wide variety of borrowing tools available if needed. Today’s entrepreneurs can choose from reward-earning credit cards; merchant loans; bank loans; buy now, pay later (BNPL) products; lines of credit and more.
LendingClub noted in its latest results that deposits on its balance sheet grew as customers gravitated to high-yield savings products, credit quality was strong — and embedded finance solutions may offer a new avenue of future growth. As detailed in the most recent earnings materials, deposits of $7.5 billion represented an increase over the $7.3 billion in the
The financial services industry tends to think at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to business customers. Solutions providers, banks and credit card companies tend to pay a lot of attention to small business, as they do during the current Small Business Week (April 28 – May 3). And they also dedicate entire divisions to servicing
Venezuela is reportedly expected to increase its use of cryptocurrency when the United States reimposes oil sanctions on the country beginning June 1. A Venezuelan opposition politician, Leopoldo Lopez, and a national security leader at New York-based blockchain data firm Chainalysis, Kristofer Doucette, released a report Monday (April 29) saying that democratic governments should set up structures to