5 trends we’re watching this week

5 trends in finance this week

[alert type=yellow ]Every week at Tradestreaming, we’re tracking and analyzing the top trends impacting the finance industry. The following is a list of important things going on we think are worth paying attention to. For more in depth trendfollowing, subscribe to Tradestreaming’s newsletters .[/alert]

  1. How Payoff is shifting the conversation about consumer debt to financial wellness (Tradestreaming): Payoff seems to be genuinely interested in helping its clients find their way out of debt and start saving. Pretty weird for a company that extends credit.
  2. Banks should take fintech seriously, not panic, but make a gameplan (McKinsey): A new McKinsey report hit the wires this week – it’s a sanguine analysis meant for finance professionals. “Specifically, this means that banks should be less preoccupied with individual fintech attackers and more focused on what these attackers represent—and build or buy the capabilities that matter for a digital future.” Worth a read.
  3. J.P. Morgan acquires nearly $1 billion worth of LendingClub loans — Sources (Nasdaq): J.P. Morgan has agreed to acquire nearly $1 billion worth of personal loans arranged by LendingClub, according to people familiar.
  4. Why one of the best fintech investors, Foundation Capital’s Charles Moldow, invests only in B2C (Tradestreaming): Foundation has one of the strongest fintech portfolios and General Partner, Charles Moldow (LendingClub, OnDeck Capital, Envestnet, Motif Investing) explains why he sees so much more room to run in disrupting finance.
  5. Quicken Loans getting into personal loans (Detroit Free Press): Quicken this week launched RocketLoans, an online service offering cash loans of $2,000 to $35,000 to prospective borrowers with good credit scores and financial histories. The loans have fixed terms of three to five years and carry interest rates ranging from just over 5% to the low or mid-teens.