Entrepreneur covered the positives, negatives and future questions surrounding the Peer-to-Peer lending industry. While they discuss P2P lending as a whole (and not just related to personal loans) they summarise the benefits and how they can impact both those issuing the finance and those in need of finance:
“Peer-to-peer lending fills a void in the marketplace and is a natural extension of the sharing economy. It brings investors and business people together to create a mutually beneficial arrangement without extensive red tape, which amounts to a win-win for both parties.
For entrepreneurs, P2P lending offers access to funds they could not receive through a bank either because they would not qualify for a loan or because the loan amount is too small to be financially beneficial to the lender.”
Neatly summarising 5 smart ways to invest in 2019, Forbes discusses Online Real Estate Investing, Peer-to-Peer lending, coaching or mentorship and more. Although the article is heavily focused on options available within the U.S., the same principles can be applied anywhere.
“While investing in coaching or some sort of mentorship may not be as traditional as other options on this list, this type of investment can be well worth it. The money you spend to get guidance or improve your accountability in a group of like-minded individuals can pay off in spades, both financially and emotionally.
How do I know? I have invested in several different coaching and mentorship programs over the years, including a program that cost $25,000! While that’s a lot of money, there’s no way I could get a better return than I did by investing in myself and my own personal development. I learned so much from the groups I took part in, and those lessons translated into a lot more than $25,000 in returns later on.”
Amidst the recent decline in the Cryptocurrency markets, Cointelegraph reported the approval of an anti-money laundering bill by the Irish Government which affects Cryptocurrency.
“The directive — which came into force on July 9, 2018 — sets a new legal framework for European financial watchdogs to regulate digital currencies in order to protect against money laundering and terrorism financing.
Specifically, the directive will extend the scope to crypto platforms and wallet providers, end the anonymity of bank and savings accounts, and improve information exchange among authorities. EU member states must incorporate the directive into their respective national laws by Jan. 20, 2020.”
After the exposure of the Danske bank money laundering scandal in 2018, the Danish government is planning a review of its financial regulator. Money laundering is the process by which money received or associated with crime is then made to look legitimate – usually, by “washing” it through financial systems to disguise the illegitimate origins. This failure raises the question of the ability of international anti-money laundering agencies to identify this activity in the future. ERR reports:
Danish finance and entrepreneurship minister Rasmus Jarlov told the FT the government is planning to look at ways to improve the Danish Financial Services Authority (FSA) early in 2019, as well as questions on the demarcation of responsibility between the FSA and the banking sector, and Danske’s position as the flagship national bank.
The Danish FSA has been repeatedly criticised variously for being to close to Danske or not being effective in the lead up to the crisis fully coming to public attention through the course of 2018.
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/will-machine-learning-transform-finance
https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2019/01/142944-fintech-news-the-biggest-fintech-stories-of-2018/
Yale Insights explored whether and how machine learning will transform the financial industry. While not exclusive to finance, machine learning is being used in a wide range of industries – from health to recruitment. Key points covered are what aspect of finance machine learning will benefit the most, what it is, and will it replace the need for human employees in the future.
“Financial services seems like fertile ground for AI to generate profit. For decades, quantitative investing firms have used computers to trade based on complex algorithms. The next step is for the computers to ingest data on the history and current state of the market and generate their own trading strategies.”
