Industry News
PayPal’s Actions Convey Continued Expansion of Lending Business
July 27, 2018PayPal announced its Q2 2018 earnings yesterday. Notably, total payment volume grew 27%, which is 1% higher than Q2 of last year. And the popular payment app Venmo, which is owned by PayPal, grew 78%, only slightly less than its growth of 80% from the last quarter. As expected by Wall Street analysts, revenue growth lagged total volume growth as Venmo is still largely unmonetized.
PayPal demonstrated continued commitment to its online lending division, PayPal Working Capital, when last month it made a significant investment in LendUp, a startup that offers loans to subprime consumers. This follows PayPal’s September 2017 acquisition of Swift Financial, for $183 million.
In yesterday’s Q2 earnings conference call, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman spoke about the company’s consumer lending division, PayPal Credit. He said that the company has strengthened its partnership with eBay by signing an agreement to extend its long-standing consumer financing offer to eBay’s marketplace.
“With this agreement,” Schulman said on the conference call, “eBay will continue to accept and promote PayPal Credit through 2025.”
As PayPal continues to grow both PayPal Credit and PayPal Working Capital, it does have the advantage of strong name recognition. After all, it started back in 1998 as one of the first major websites on the internet. To emphasize this, during the conference call, Schulman cited a recent ComScore study that reported that 52% of mobile consumers said they made more online purchases because PayPal was offered. And one-third of all PayPal mobile customers surveyed said they will abandon a purchase if PayPal is not offered as a checkout option.
Notorious Tampa Bay Loan Broker Likely Headed Back to Jail
July 27, 2018
Tampa Bay loan broker Victor Clavizzao pleaded guilty this week to one count of wire fraud, which could land him in prison for up to 20 years. This would not be his first time behind bars. In 2009, a federal judge sentenced him to five years for conspiring to fraudulently obtain nearly $6 million in mortgage loans.
This time, Clavizzao, 55, cheated a church congregation out of $16,350 that they had set aside to build a new church. According to a Tampa Bay Times story, shortly after leaving prison in 2014, Clavizzao was still on probation when he created Key Business Loans. Around the same time, he met husband and wife, Sam and Minnie Wright. Minnie Wright is the pastor of the Tampa Bay-area New Testament Outreach Holiness Church #2, and she asked Clavizzao if his company would be able to make a loan to their church.
According to the Tampa Bay Times story, Clavizzao said “Absolutely.”
Clavizzao, who used the named Victor Thomas, ingratiated himself with the Wrights and other church congregants and told them that not only could he help them obtain a $650,000 loan, he could also handle the purchase of the plot of land along with other details. The church gave Clavizzao a series of initial payments – for an architect and for an environment inspection of the land – and when the Wrights started getting suspicious, Clavizzao disappeared.
Last year, suspected of defrauding the Wrights and others, Clavizzao told Tampa Bay Times in a phone interview that his business, Key Business Loans, was completely legitimate.
“Knock yourself out, I’m not doing anything wrong,” he said, acknowledging that he discloses his criminal history to prospective borrowers. “Any person who has a problem about my past can choose to do business with me or not do business.”
In July of 2014, Clavizzao presented the Wrights with a “Proposal Letter for Guaranteed Business Purchase Loan” from Key Capital Commercial Funding, a New York City-based company he said he had ties with. The proposal outlined the terms of a 15-year, $650,000 loan at 5.1 percent interest. The Wrights signed it. However, what the Wrights did not know at the time was that there was no Key Capital Commercial Funding in New York City, or anywhere else.
In part because of persistent reporting on Clavizzao from Susan Taylor Martin at Tampa Bay Times, the Wrights were able to learn more about Clavizzao’s criminal past and the FBI got involved.
After Clavizzao’s recent guilty plea, he is currently out on bond pending his sentencing. A date has not been set.
Oakmont Capital Services Follows Top Talent to Minnesota
July 26, 2018
Yesterday, Oakmont Capital Services announced that it had hired 11 equipment finance veterans to staff its new office in Albany, Minnesota.
All of the new hires were previously working in the Equipment Finance division of Stearns Bank, a regional bank headquartered in Minnesota with retail bank locations throughout the state and in Arizona and Florida. Among banks with $2 to $10 billion in assets, Stearns Bank was named the top performing bank by American Banker for 2017 and 2018. The American Banker noted last year the bank’s expertise in equipment financing. Stearns Bank also received the number one ranking for top-performing community bank in the country from ICBA Independent Banker magazine in its May 2017 edition.
“I’m most excited about the depth of the knowledge base of the people we brought on,” said Founder of Oakmont, Joe Leonard, in reference to the new hires.
Leonard told deBanked that Oakmont was looking to expand all along, but the decision to locate its new office in Minnesota was largely based on the group of talent that became available from Stearns Bank. Leonard said there was management change at Stearns Bank, but that the bank still has a robust equipment finance team.
Oakland does equipment finance for the transportation, construction and medical industries, among others. It also provides working capital loans for business acquisitions, commercial real estate, debt consolidation, bridge Loans and export financing. Oakmont can make working capital loans from $300,000 to $20 million.
Leonard said that the bulk of Oakmont’s business is commercial equipment financing and SBA loans. And business is derived almost exclusively from referrals from equipment dealers and manufacturers.
The new hires include Daryn Lecy, who will serve as Vice President of Operations. He has experience helping to grow a portfolio from $140 million to $1.2 billion. He also has experience co-managing over 150 equipment finance employees. Lecy will be responsible for managing Oakmont’s new Minnesota office.
Jim Peach will be Vice President of Sales, Kayla Perling, Syndication Manager, Mikki Henkelman, Credit Manager, Tracey Elfering, Business Development Coordinator, and Jena Dirkes, Channel Development Officer. Chad Primus, Elise Linn, Jayme Gerads, Molly Sand and Michael McElroy will all serve as business development officers.
Founded in 1998, Oakland has its headquarters in West Chester, Pennsylvania. With the Minnesota office, it now employs roughly 40 people.
Axiom Bank Acquires Allied Affiliated Funding
July 12, 2018
Axiom Bank, a community bank with retail branches located inside Walmarts throughout Florida, announced this week that it has acquired a factoring company, Allied Affiliated Funding.
“Allied has a proven track record of success with accounts receivable lending, which fits well with Axiom’s broader business plan to diversify and expand our commercial lending operation,” said Axiom Bank President and CEO Daniel Davis. “Allied is also an excellent fit culturally for us. They have a strong management team with the expertise to help emerging companies and businesses that are seeking growth, as well as those that need working capital.”
Allied’s factoring product will add to Axiom Bank’s offering for its small business owners clients. Likewise, Axiom Bank’s capabilities in cash management services will provide new opportunities for Allied’s current commercial clients. Allied is based in Dallas, Texas.
“Axiom is a Florida-based nationally chartered bank with a strong entrepreneurial spirit that is focused on maximizing clients’ potential,” Allied Affiliated Funding CEO Clay Tramel. “Combining forces helps us to deliver on a shared vision with greater creativity by offering new exciting products, including asset-based lending, in the marketplace.”
Tramel will stay on as CEO of what will now be known as Axiom Factoring. Gen Merritt-Parikh will serve as President and be in charge of the day-to-day operations.
Acquiring other companies has been a cornerstone of Axiom Bank’s growth strategy, including branch expansions (there are now 24 branches) as well as the launch of AxiomGO, a mobile banking app. Axiom was also recently approved as an SBA preferred lender, a designation that allows the bank to independently approve and underwrite SBA 7(a) loans.
Established in 1962, Axiom Bank is based in central Florida and provides retail banking services, including checking, deposit, and money market accounts.
MCA Funder Says Debt Settlement Company Operating Illegally Without a Budget Planning License
July 11, 2018
Merchant Cash Advance companies are on the warpath against debt settlement companies. In the latest legal offensive, High Speed Capital alleges that Corporate Debt Advisors’ debt settlement business is really just an unlicensed Budget Planning operation, a misdemeanor criminal offense in New York.
High Speed’s petition cites New York General Business Law § 455. “So-called ‘debt negotiation’ and ‘debt settlement’ companies that negotiate settlements between debtors and creditors on behalf of the debtors and which may coordinate or supervise payment by the debtors to the creditors in exchange for fees from the debtor are engaged in Budget Planning,” they say. “Budget Planning agreements with unlicensed entities are void for illegality and cannot be upheld by the Court.”
At issue in this action is that the transfer of funds from the merchant to Corporate Debt Advisors is allegedly fraudulent. High Speed won a judgment against the merchant in October 2017 and believes those funds belong to it. Corporate Debt Advisors has refused to send the funds in its possession to High Speed and has instead tried to negotiate. High Speed’s petition before the Court asks that Corporate Debt Advisors turn over the funds immediately to High Speed.
The case can be found in the New York Supreme Court, Erie County under Index #: 810673/2018. You can view the petition here.
Lendistry Becomes a Member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
July 11, 2018
Lendistry announced yesterday that it has been approved for membership by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. This will allow the lender to expand its commercial real estate loan business, which Lendistry launched in January.
“It’s an honor to be a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, an organization committed to community development by expanding availability of credit,” said Lendistry CEO Everett K. Sands. “We look forward to leveraging our unique business model of being a hybrid of a community bank and a fintech company to expand access to capital to all.”
Lendistry offers SBA loans (up to $250,000), traditional small business, or term, loans (up to $1 million), bridge and short-term loans (up to $500,000), and most recently, commercial real estate loans (up to $2 million). Sands told deBanked that about 65 percent of its business is derived from SBA loans, about 30 percent comes from term loans, and the remainder is a mix from the other loan types. Of the term loans, Sands said that the average is a four year loan with a 12 percent interest rate.
About 70 percent of Lendistry’s business comes from a combination of bank referrals and commercial loan brokers, or ISOs. Otherwise, Lendistry obtains customers from affiliate partners, like Lending Tree, and from its own direct efforts. Out of a 22 person team, Lendistry employs eight salespeople. And Sands said that about 70 percent of the team has a banking background.
Lendistry customers come from a variety of industries including healthcare, restaurants and home improvement. Sands said that the bulk of its business comes from merchants in the medical and manufacturing industries because these are the types of companies that their bank partners have been sending them lately. The lender also makes a fair amount of loans to restaurants, Sands said.
Lendistry has a partnership with The Center, a nonprofit that provides small business owners with educational resources, such as workshops, training videos, coaching sessions, and networking opportunities. Founded in 2015, Lendistry is based in Brea, California, outside of Los Angeles.
Australian Lenders Commit to Best Practices Code
July 10, 2018
Six small business fintech lenders operating in Australia, including OnDeck, have signed a self-imposed “code of best practice lending principles,” according to a recent statement from Prospa, one of Australia’s largest online small business lenders. This comes shortly after Prospa paused its June IPO, having received a letter from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) requesting information.
Possibly in response to ASIC’s inquiries into the Prospa IPO, what has emerged is a code of best practices signed by Prospa, OnDeck, Capify, GetCapital, Moula and Spotcap. This set of self-imposed rules, referred to as the Code, has not yet been solidified, but it already includes a number of constituents in a highly collaborative effort.
The six small business signatories will be contributing to the Code, along with a trade group for the Australian finance sector, the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA), the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Camel, the Bank Doctor, an SME advocate, and FinTech Australia, an industry association. According to the Prospa, the Code will be fully operational and enforceable by December 31, 2018.
“Our Online Small Business Lender Group members have embraced the sentiment of improving transparency and disclosure and took proactive action to come together quickly and collegiately to develop a Code,” said Helen Gordon, CEO of AFIA.
Acknowledging that small business lenders are already subject to rules from a number of regulatory bodies, the Prospa document stated:
“This Code is a proactive move to pull the obligations of online small business lenders together into one document. This makes it easier for current market participants and will also help new entrants understand their obligations.”
Already, some of the central elements agreed upon in the Code include:
- The introduction of a pricing comparison tool providing key metrics that will allow customers to compare the cost of unsecured loans from the signatories (including the total repayment amount, APR, simple annual interest rate)
- An easy-to-understand loan summary
- A glossary of key terms in accessible language that applies directly to online small business loans
- Signatories must attest their compliance with the Code on an annual basis
According to the Prospa statement, the Code was modelled after best practice examples and feedback from the US and UK, where the online lending industry is more developed.
This list of tenets already seems quite progressive, or onerous, depending on who you ask. The notion of introducing or requiring a price comparison tool is a hot button topic here in the US. Requiring that loans and merchant cash advance products be labeled with an APR or an Annual Cost of Capital (ACC) is what the state of California is moving towards with a highly contested bill that passed in the state assembly committee in June.
Proponents of the bill SB 1235, introduced by California State Sen. Steven Glazer, want to make certain that all small businesses can easily understand and compare the cost of loan and finance products. Opponents of the bill, many in the merchant cash advance industry, insist that a requirement like this amounts to shutting down their industry because a precise APR or ACC cannot be applied to a cash advance product given that the product depends on the duration of the deal, which is variable.
While not as formal, some efforts in the U.S. are also being made by alternative finance industry players to self-regulate. In May, the Small Business Finance Association (SFBA) announced the launch of an initiative called the SFBA Broker Council, which has a mission to create standards and best practices for brokers.
Thinking Capital, Equifax Create Canadian Small Business Credit Grades
July 10, 2018
Equifax and Thinking Capital today announced the launch of BillMarket, a service that will now provide Canadian small businesses with a credit grade, A through E. CEO and cofounder of Thinking Capital Jeff Mitelman told deBanked this is revolutionary because, up until now, a Canadian small business’ creditworthiness has usually been based on the personal credit score of the small business owner.
“BillMarket creates a new language of credit for small business in Canada,” Mitelman said. “For the first time, there is a practical way to talk about and put a dollar value on small business credit in Canada. BillMarket expands the purchasing power for Canadian SMBs and eliminates friction in the supply chain.”
Equifax offers this new credit grade for free, and simultaneously, a small business owner is offered a supply chain financing deal by Thinking Capital. Specifically, if a small business owes money to a vendor in 30 days, Thinking Capital can turn that 30 day invoice into a 120 day invoice. Thinking Capital pays the small business’ vendor and the small business has 120 days to pay Thinking Capital. There are fees associated with this, which are based on the small business’ credit grade, but a small business can simply use Equifax’s credit grade and seek funding elsewhere.
“BillMarket represents a cash flow revolution for the Canadian small business market,” he said.
Traditionally, Thinking Capital provides an MCA product, which it calls Flexible, as well as a term product, which it calls Fixed. The company provides funding up to $300,000 to small to medium sized Canadian businesses. Clients must be in business for at least six months and have average monthly sales of at least $7,000. The funder was acquired in March by Toronto-based Purpose Financial, but it still uses the Thinking Capital name.
Founded in 2006, Thinking Capital employees roughly 200 people and has offices in Montreal and Toronto.
