Inflated bond prices are lurking - The Wall Street Journal reports that regulation aimed at improving rating quality has instead likely hurt it - competition has led challengers to rate the same bonds higher than major firms are. Read more
Grayscale Investments moves to Coinbase Custody - Grayscale announced that Coinbase Custody would be the new secure custody provider for Grayscale's $2.7b AUM. Grayscale previously used Xapo, but now has a 3-year deal in place with Coinbase. Read more
Fox Corp to buy majority stake in Credible Labs - In a deal valued at $265m, Fox Corp has agreed to purchase a majority stake of Credible Labs, the San Francisco based marketplace for consumer-lending information. Read more
Can Klarna break the mold? - Many of Sweden's most successful startups are now headquartered outside of Sweden or have been acquired by foreign companies. So can Klarna, fresh off of a $5.5b valuation, keep itself in Sweden (or even Europe)? Read more
Robinhood authorized to operate as a broker in the U.K. - The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the financial services regulator in the U.K., has now approved Robinhood as a broker in the U.K., enabling Robinhood to bring their investing platform across the pond. Read more
Kik Interactive fights back - The SEC alleges that Kik's $100m token sale was illegal, but Kik this week filed a lawsuit against the SEC alleging the SEC is “twisting” the facts. The SEC claims that Kik's move was to raise money to save the company, but Kik says it should be viewed as a bold business decision to beat competitors. Read more
Mastercard buys a majority stake in Nets - Mastercard announced that it is paying €2.85b for a majority stake in the corporate services group of Nets, the Danish provider of payments technology. The move is part of the Mastercard's broader strategy to diversify its payments capabilities in the consumer sector. Read more
Divvy and Credit Suisse announce $500m purchase agreement - Divvy, the Utah based provider of spend and expense management technology, and Credit Suisse, the Swiss banking giant, announced a purchase agreement that gives Credit Suisse the ability to buy up to $500m in Divvy receivables over the next two years. Read more
Singapore unveils new fintech sandbox process - The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a new option for their fintech sandbox - "Sandbox Express" - which will allow companies to more quickly so long as they adhere to pre-determined rules. The existing sandbox program gives companies the ability to customize their sandbox process. Read more
KKR acquiring Heidelpay - Germany based provider of online and mobile payment processing services has agreed to sell a majority stake to KKR for more than €600m. Read more
PayJoy expanding to Brazil by late 2019 - San Francisco based PayJoy plans to launch in Brazil by late 2019, at which point it will assist low-income consumers in obtaining credit to finance a smartphone purchase. The company, which raised $20m in funding in May 2019, already operates in Mexico, India, and Indonesia. Read more
Funding Circle co-founder to step down - Following the announcement of £31m of losses over the first half of 2019, Funding Circle co-founder and U.K. chief James Meekings will step down. Read more
Brubank sells 15% stake - Argentina based digital bank Brubank sold 15% of the company to Canadian billionaire David Thomson. Brubank will use the funds to continue growing in Argentina, and is in the process of analyzing expansion opportunities into Mexico, Colombia, or Peru. Read more
Ticket prices are getting too expensive, so fans are borrowing more - Across rugby and soccer, the trend of borrowing to pay for tickets is on the rise, with the quantity of loans doubling in the past 12 months. Secure Trust Bank recently became the biggest bank for soccer loans after Zebra Finance pulled out of the market this summer. Read more |
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