Archive for 2018
Google Will Ban Cryptocurrency Ads
March 14, 2018Today, Google updated its list of banned advertising content to include “cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice).”
This comes as Facebook made the same decision at the end of January. While Facebook’s prohibition of cryptocurrency-related ads came into effect immediately, the Google ban will not begin until this June.
The value of Bitcoin dropped by 9.1 percent in the wake of this news. Critics contend that this overarching ban may hurt the legitimate use of cryptocurrencies, while crypto detractors are pleased that cryptocurrency fraud will soon be significantly restricted.
In June, Google will also prohibit ads related to Binary options, a type of financial contract that promises either a fixed amount of compensation or nothing at all.
2017 Small Business Financing Leaderboard
March 14, 2018Thanks to several companies filing their annual earnings statements and Funding Circle disclosing their USA origination figures for 2017, we’ve been able to put together a leaderboard in the small business financing space. This list is not comprehensive and omits key players like PayPal Working Capital and Amazon Lending.
| Company Name | 2017 Originations | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
| OnDeck | $2,114,663,000 | $2,400,000,000 | $1,900,000,000 | $1,200,000,000 |
| Kabbage | $1,500,000,000 | $1,220,000,000 | $900,000,000 | $350,000,000 |
| Square Capital | $1,177,000,000 | $798,000,000 | $400,000,000 | $100,000,000 |
| Yellowstone Capital | $553,000,000 | $460,000,000 | $422,000,000 | $290,000,000 |
| Funding Circle (USA only) | $500,000,000 | |||
| BlueVine | $500,000,000* | $200,000,000* | ||
| National Funding | $427,000,000 | $350,000,000 | $293,000,000 | |
| Strategic Funding | $393,000,000 | $375,000,000 | $375,000,000 | $280,000,000 |
| BFS Capital | $300,000,000 | $300,000,000 | ||
| RapidAdvance | $260,000,000 | $280,000,000 | $195,000,000 | |
| Credibly | $180,000,000 | $150,000,000 | $95,000,000 | $55,000,000 |
| Shopify | $140,000,000 | |||
| Forward Financing | $125,000,000 | |||
| IOU Financial | $91,300,000 | $107,600,000 | $146,400,000 | $100,000,000 |
*Asterisks signify that the figure is the editor’s estimate
The Underwriters – How A Small Team Is Turning Underwriting Into Big Business
March 13, 2018
A keen eye can spot a good deal. And for New York-based Central Diligence Group, an underwriting-focused company founded in 2015 by four partners, it has been a boon for business. The company has lately been providing its underwriting expertise to a wider variety of clients, including some outside the MCA space.
“We started to gear towards a more underwriting-centric model [where] a deal would come in, we underwrite it once, we assess the risk, we determine what box it would fall under and where it would qualify, and depending on what that pedigree of information [was], we would essentially [fulfill] the full underwriting [job,]” said Nick Gregory, one of the founding partners at Central Diligence.
Initially, the company provided underwriting services mostly to smaller funders, syndication brokers and ISO clients that service MCA merchants in the construction and trucking businesses, among others. But close to three years later, its roster of clients is far more diverse.
Over the past six to eight months, Central Diligence has been working with a west coast-based credit card processing company with a portfolio of over 100,000 clients, according to Andrew Hernandez, another Central Diligence partner. The credit card processing company has just built out its own MCA product, but they don’t have an underwriting team, which is where Central Diligence comes in. Hernandez said that this company, the identity of whom he could not disclose, just renewed its contract with them.
Another unique client is an institutional investor, with offices in New York and Dallas, that just formalized a new working relationship with Central Diligence over the last week to go beyond just underwriting and into the realm of funding and servicing. According to Hernandez, this client is looking to make investments in MCA at the higher end of the market.
“In our space, $50,000 to $250,000 is pretty easy to come by, but $250,000 to $1 million, not so much,” Hernandez said. “So they see that there’s a gap with small businesses…and they’re using us to do [due] diligence [on companies.]”
Finally, Central Diligence is finishing an agreement with another unconventional client, an overseas mortgage company with interest in MCA. According to Hernandez, it is looking to execute a kind of beta test in the U.S. and then take the business model to Europe if it works.
In addition to the four founding partners, who work as underwriters, there are four additional underwriters and two junior underwriters for a total of ten on staff.
Hernandez attributes these new opportunities to the reputation they have built in the MCA space, including the 10+ years of experience that each of the founding partners have.
“Because of our experience and history in the space, a lot of our relationships have been built because of our credibility,” Hernandez said. “That’s the most important.”
OnDeck CFO Moves On After 10 Years
March 13, 2018OnDeck announced yesterday that its CFO, Howard Katzenberg, would be leaving on March 26th and is being replaced by Kenneth A. Brause. An OnDeck spokesperson told deBanked that Katzenberg’s departure is completely amicable.
“[Katzenberg] is still a young man and he’s looking to make the next mark in his career,” the spokesperson said.
Katzenberg started with OnDeck in 2008 as one of its first employees. He will stay on as an advisor through the middle of April to guarantee a smooth transition. Brause, his replacement, has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and currently works as Executive Vice President & Treasurer at CIT Group.
Thinking Capital Acquired by Canadian Finance Firm Purpose Financial
March 12, 2018
Thinking Capital, a leader in the fintech lending industry in Canada, was acquired last week by Canadian finance company, Purpose Financial, based in Toronto.
“Under the Purpose Financial umbrella, our time to market on product innovation and funding capacity will be greatly amplified,” said Jeff Mitelman, CEO and co-founder of Thinking Capital.
Mitelman, who co-founded Thinking Capital in 2006, has long been an advocate for improving the way small business credit is evaluated and communicated in Canada.
“The challenge in Canada is that our lending institutions historically either don’t lend to small business or don’t lend to enough of our small businesses,” Mitelman told deBanked. “And that’s driven by the fact that so many of the measures of small business credit worthiness simply don’t exist. Our credit bureaus don’t report on it, there aren’t metrics or scores unique to small business, and most significantly, small business credit has never been attached to retail or institutional conduits for funding.”
This is where Purpose Financial comes in. Mitelman believes that Purpose Financial’s investment arm and its relationship with Omers, a large Canadian pension fund, will provide small businesses with “access to conduits that historically small businesses have never been able to access.”
Thinking Capital provides an MCA product, which it calls Flexible, as well as a term product, which it calls Fixed. It also helps power loans provided by large companies like Staples.
Purpose Financial has three verticals: Investment Management (retail and institutional), Digital Technology, and Capital / Funding.
“Thinking Capital is a clear leader in the small to medium-sized business lending space…” said Som Seif, CEO of Purpose Financial. “[And] this acquisition brings together leading origination, asset management, and technology platforms as a unified entity, and enables us to bolster our product capabilities and optimize the technology, distribution, and funding model of our combined business.”
What’s a Broker To Do? Industry Execs Offer Their Insight
March 12, 2018
Below are excerpts from separate interviews with four industry executives when asked for tips or advice for brokers:
“I would just say to be in it for the long haul. Play the long game. Be the kind of quality partner that you would want in return. There are some brokers and referral sources in this space who see merchants only as a commission check, not as the going concern and business entities that they are. Some brokers are playing the short game, which is unfortunate, because brokers can be in a very powerful position with their clients (merchants) – they need to use that power wisely. If one were to carefully look at a business and its working capital challenges, and then tried to do what was in the best interest of that business in the long run, a broker could be creating a revenue stream for a longer period of time – on a healthier business – and in return creating a more sustainable brokerage platform for themselves. Be open and transparent – sometimes losing a deal due to full transparency can lead to many multiples of that volume with a loyal funding partner.”
– Bill Gallagher, President and Managing Partner, CFG Merchant Solutions | Read full interview
“Choose industries that you excel in—and own them.
Concentrate your marketing efforts on your core customers and target those that meet a lender’s criteria. It’s not the quantity of leads you deliver, it’s the quality—and that will save you time and money. Look for customers in growth stages, not those that are desperate for funds to stay afloat. This will also result in more renewals.
And find a lending partner with a strong brand, as this opens doors to new customers.”
– Michael Marrache, CEO, BFS Capital | Read full interview
“It is not an easy business and not for everyone. It takes quite some time – years – to either build an organization or to become a seasoned pro that truly understands the space. It is also very fast paced and ever changing, so you have to really commit and take the space seriously if you want to be successful.”
– James Webster, CEO, National Business Capital | Read full interview
“Brokering is a tough marketplace right now. I don’t want to say [it’s] saturated, but it’s getting pretty close…Everyone’s getting a million phone calls and mailings and the marketing is going crazy, and the expense is going up. So you really have to find a way to differentiate yourself.
That’s really the biggest thing about being a broker, besides quality service. It’s more: What kind of niche can I get into? How can I break into the market without having to spend like a million dollars a month on marketing? The biggest thing is: What can you do differently?”
– Evan Marmott, CEO, CanaCap | Read full interview
John Oliver Preaches Caution and Responsibility On Cryptocurrency
March 12, 2018HBO Talk Show host John Oliver showed restraint while taking down cryptocurrencies Sunday night. Although he criticized alleged ponzi schemes like Bitconnect and poked fun at the absurdity of EOS’s valuation, his overall message was to approach the technology with caution.
Bitconnect was an easy target now that the company has shut down and a judge has issued an order for their assets to be frozen.
Oliver appeared to be talking to the masses who could fall victim to an otherwise obvious scam simply due to their own fear of missing out.
What do you think?
Enova’s TBB Did $15M in Merchant Cash Advance Revenue in 2017
March 12, 2018International online lending conglomerate, Enova, generated $843.7 million in revenue last year, according to their recent annual report. More than $15 million came from merchant cash advances (MCAs) made through The Business Backer (TBB), a small business financing company they acquired in 2015. That’s down from $18.6 million in MCA revenue generated in 2016.
Though MCA revenue may be down, TBB began offering an installment small business loan product in 2017. They’re available in 10 states, according to the company.
Enova refers to MCAs as RPAs in their reports, short for Receivable Purchase Agreements. “Small businesses receive funds in exchange for a portion of the business’s future receivables at an agreed upon discount,” they state.”A small business customer who enters into a RPA commits to delivering a percentage of its receivables through ACH or wire debits or by splitting credit card receipts until all purchased receivables are delivered.” That is a textbook explanation of MCAs.
Their average “RPA” customer averages $1.5 million in annual sales and has 10 years of operating history.
