[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”10200″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
Introduction
The Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit was held on 8-10th December at Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point. The Summit is an educational forum designed for investors, issuers, platforms, underwriters, banks rating agencies, lawyers, service providers, accountants, and other related industry professionals. The conference has been organized by the Opal Group which organizes premier conferences catered to top executives and decision makers throughout various industries.
The conference provides participants with an opportunity to learn and network with industry leaders to gain insight on the newest techniques to enhance returns and execute proper risk management in the booming field of marketplace lending. The conference provided an overview of the current state and the prediction about the future scenario of the US Marketplace Lending Industry and the challenges faced due to fraud and data security issues.
Agenda
The Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit provides attendees an in-depth review of the current landscape along with deep dive into specific topics like analyzing rating agency methodology, legal, tax, and structural considerations and the tech-evolution of the sector; all designed to ensure that attendees can get that vital edge in an ever-changing market.
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”10199″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Event Highlights
The Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit was a three-day event from 8th to 10 December. It was held at Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, CA.
The event started with registration followed by the co-chair opening remarks. It was followed by a panel discussion on the Current State and Outlook of the US Marketplace Lending Industry. After this there another session on the topic The Role of Technology and Data. The third session was about Partnerships with Banks, Fintechs and Platforms. In the end, there was a Standalone session by Robert J. Jackson Jr. Commissioner of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Colleen Honigsberg Associate Professor of Law, Stanford Law School. The day ended with a Networking Cocktail Reception in the Exhibit Hall.
The second day of the event started with a Standalone by Brock J. Blake, Founder, and CEO of Lendio. There were 9 sessions and each session was divided into two parts: track A and track B. After the completion of every two sessions there was a Networking Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall. A major hit was the Fireside Chat with David Kimball, Chief Executive Officer of Prosper. The day ended with Networking Cocktail Reception in the Exhibit Hall.
Track A had sessions on Raising capital in the current environment and Finding yield in marketplace lending. This was followed by discussions on auto loans, student loans and blockchain applications for online lending. Track A also had insightful sessions on Lending Securitization, emerging markets for marketplace lending, opportunities in real estate and legal and regulatory issues being faced by the industry. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”10188″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Track B’s Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence session entailed an animated discussion into the application of the emerging technologies in the marketplace lending space. James Wu, Founder, and CEO of MonJa was also a panelist for this session. He was joined by a distinguished set of panelists- Tim Collins (Chief Compliance Officer TrueAccord), Andrew Graham (CEO Borrowell), Joseph Breeden (CEO, Prescient Models), Gregory Wright, Chief Product Officer and EVP, Consumer Information Services of Experian North America, Fred Kauber, Chief Product & Technology Officer of BFS Capital, and Albert Periu (CEO, Neptune Financials). The panel was moderated by Ido Lustig, Chief Risk Officer of BlueVine.
This was followed by sessions on the future of alternative lending, small business lending, capital market outlook, etc.
The third day of the event witnessed 3 sessions. The first session was about Fintech in non-prime America. The focus was on the 100 million borrowers that are being left behind due to thin or weak credit files. It was succeeded by a session on financial inclusion in the industry. There was an interesting standalone on the topic of whether Debt Consolidation is harmful or helpful by John Wirth, VP, Fintech Strategy NAD Market Development, Transunion. The third session was on How to Manage Fraud in an Online Marketplace with Universally Compromised Data. The event ended with the closing remarks.
Conclusion
The Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit is an insightful platform for industry leaders to engage in an in-depth discussion of the growth and evolution of marketplace lending. The variety of topics covered, from AI and ML to compliance with real estate lending ensured that all facets of marketplace lending were analyzed in detail by industry experts. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]