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How to Lend Money to Strangers — Business
How to Lend Money to Strangers

A podcast about lending innovation and lending leadership in all the markets in which it takes place, however diverse those markets may be. In fact, it’s a case of ‘the more diverse the better,’ with guests from New York to New Zealand discussing everything from crypto-backed mortgages to crowd-funded loans for refugees to gamified loan journeys to AI-powered credit scores.

I am the host, Brendan le Grange, and I have spent the last twenty years working in – or alongside – lenders in Africa, Asia, and Europe and I’m using that experience to find and learn from industry insiders in a series of weekly interviews. Sometimes, those interviews discuss the inspiration behind a new start-up, sometimes they look back at a career spent at the lending coal face, and sometimes they explore where the latest technologies might take us. In the end, if it shapes a lending decision, we’ll talk about how. You can join us every Thursday here, or wherever you prefer to find your podcasts.

You can find more at www.HowToLendMoneytoStrangers.show

Or follow my other projects at https://confirmu.com/, https://www.joinhumoni.com/, https://chaos-out-of-order.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.

Latest Episodes:

KYC Better, with Sasha Marley (Bonafidee) Oct 26, 2023

Show notes

"Trust matters more than ever, but in today's anonymous landscape, it is becoming rarer by the day. (At Bondafidee) we want to change that."

I recently sat down with Sasha Marley for one of the most personal interviews I've done here, because fraud isn't just a numbers thing, it has very real human impacts.

Bonafidee is at home online home at https://bonafidee.com/ (or jump straight to YourQNA at https://bonafidee.com/features/your-qna-kba/)

As she mentioned in our chat, Sahsa is very active on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasha-marley-19156a2/), where you can also find Bonafidee (https://www.linkedin.com/company/bonafidee-com/) But as I went to get the right links, I saw they have just been awarded the Digital Innovation of the Year - Cyber Security/ID Verification Award at the Motor Finance Europe Awards for the Consumer Duty Package we discussed, so you might also want to read more about that (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7122962260506882048/)

Find the police's tips at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Or walk a very different path by going on your own reiki retreat https://fayjohnstone.com/

I am on LinkedIn, too, so feel free to find me and send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange

My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Keep well, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building the scaffolding for a Nigerian credit boom, with Adedeji Olowe (Lendsqr) Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

Nigeria is Africa's biggest economy. Or maybe not quite, economic variables can be hard to measure and somewhat fickle, but whatever way you slice this cake, it is in the top three with Egypt and South Africa. Fintech has played a growing role in that economy, but until now, almost none of the 'fin' that the 'tech' has been modernising was lending-related.

"I knew that if Nigeria was going to grow and the middle class was going to emerge, there has to be a credit culture, right? And I knew that one person wouldn't be able to do it... so I want to be that platform that makes the creation and discovery of credit significantly easy, cheap and very secure."

Adedeji is a Top Leadership Voice on LinkedIn, follow him there for his regular insights at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adedejiolowe/ Check out his work at Lendsqr (https://www.linkedin.com/company/lendsqr/) and Open Banking Nigeria (https://www.linkedin.com/company/openbankingnigeria/) while you're there

But Lendsqr's real home on the internet is https://lendsqr.com/ - go see how they've 'cracked the lending code'

I am on LinkedIn, of course, so feel free to send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange

My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Keep well, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Loans to build communities, with Moishe Gubin (Optimum Bank) Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

Moishe Gubin is a workhorse, a mule. And now it's paying off: for him, for the banks he leads, and for the communities they serve. In today's episode we chat about work ethic and an old-fashioned path from the bottom to the top, we chat about what communities are, and we talk about bankers becoming a footnote in someone else's success story.

Optimum Bank are at home at https://www.optimumbank.com/ (but as mentioned, you can also find more investor news by searching OPHC on the NASDAQ and financial press, https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/OPHC/)

You can find Optimum Bank on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/optimumbank/

LinkedIn is also where you’ll find me (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange/) and this show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/how-to-lend-money-to-strangers/) - so pop over and send me a connection request

My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Keep well, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lending against distressed properties not to distressed borrowers, with Todd Pigott (ZINC) Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

"Distressed property can always be repaired, not so distressed people. And so we focus on distressed properties. And that platform has worked very, very well for us: I've done a billion dollars of this, and I will tell you, I have never ever lent on a property that I was not able to fix."

The modern mortgage model is designed to work at scale, so when a deal pops up that's a little outside the norm it can often be more efficient to say no quickly than to spend time thinking it over. But that means that a lot of great deals never see the light of day within the big lenders. But it has to be that way... doesn't it? You couldn't possibly employ a team of property experts to select hidden gems in good neighbourhoods and then ensure they're well restored while still protecting your margin... could you?

I love a lending model that leverages community knowledge and that's what ZINC does - providing financing to contractors who are looking to improve neighbourhoods by buying good but distressed properties and fixing them up. Margins are good. Collateral grows in value. Borrowers have skin in the game and every reason to make it work for your mutual benefit. In this episode, I speak to Todd Pigott about their win-win-win-win approach to private lending for property developers.

ZINC Financial's homepage is at https://zincfinancial.com/ (or at https://zincinvesting.com/ for investors)

But you can also find the ZINC companies on LinkedIn: the lending side at https://www.linkedin.com/company/zinc-financial-inc-/ and the capital side at https://www.linkedin.com/company/zinc-income-fund/

Todd is there, too, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-pigott-893aa861/

My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Keep well, Brendan

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Enhancing decision accuracy, with Maik Taro Wehmeyer (Taktile) Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

"If you help a bank to create lending IP, there's always a question around 'who now understands how it works' and 'who owns it'. And the lending IP, that is something that, as a fintech, as a bank, you should own yourself.

And that is why (instead of consulting) we decided to build software that helps internal risk teams and internal credit teams to create more lending IP, faster, and on their own without having any external dependencies."

Data used to be scarce and rigid, and so the legacy systems we built were designed with that in mind. But data is now everywhere and fluid, and those rigid legacy systems are starting to hold us back. Taktile is a modern decision engine built on a local no-code platform that makes it really easy for credit and risk teams to build and run automated underwriting decisions with a really high level of accuracy.

Find Taktile at https://www.taktile.com/ or jump directly to their State of Lending report at https://www.taktile.com/state-of-lending-2023

As Maik mentions on here, both he (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maik-taro-wehmeyer) and Taktile (https://www.linkedin.com/company/taktile1/) are active on LinkedIn. I'm there, too, so feel free to send me a connection request while you're there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange

My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Keep well, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the end, it's all about the people, with Robbie Blake (Northreach) Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

We've spoken about lending systems, we've spoken about lending models, and we've spoken about the nuance of diverse markets and even more diverse market niches, but in the end, there's one thing that ties every successful lending business together: people. In this episode, I welcome Northreach's Robbie Blake about how fintechs can attract and grow the right talent, and about how the current market conditions are bringing new recruiting strategies to the fore.

Northreach is over at https://northreach.uk/ (or jump straight to their jobs at https://northreach.uk/search-jobs/)

You can find Robbie on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbie-blake-16095616a/ and while you're there, follow the Northreach page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/northreach-uk/

If Instagram is more your flavour, they're here: https://www.instagram.com/northreach_uk/

But as mentioned, you can also find their own podcast, called Coffee Mornings with Northreach, on all the main platforms of by clicking here https://open.spotify.com/show/62vRWLXSzz7FUi7SOtMZSy

I am on LinkedIn, of course, so feel free to send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange

My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Keep well, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bridges to Credit: Alternative Data and Inclusive Finance, with Santiago Espinoza (LexisNexis Risk Solutions) Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

One of the most exciting things about working in emerging markets is the opportunity to leap frog old systems - a tool that once had a cutting edge is now an anchor, and to be free of it a means to be nimble.

Now, I’m not suggesting traditional data has reached the point of being an anchor, but markets rich with it have created fully developed ecosystems that may be stifling innovation on other alternative data fronts.

This is why it was so exciting for me to be given a chance to see what’s happening in Latin America, a region that, by and large, fixing gaps in traditional with new and varied alternative data experiments.

I’m spoke to Santiago Espinoza, LexisNexis’s Director of Market Planning for LATAM, to learn more.

You can find LexisNexis Risk Solutions at: https://risk.lexisnexis.com/

They’re also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/lexisnexis-risk-solutions/

Santiago is also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/santiago-espinoza-6385ba

I am on LinkedIn, of course, so feel free to send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange

My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Keep well, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cross-border BNPL in Brazil, with Vinícius Vieira (BEXS) Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

The Fifa World Cup is the biggest prize in football. So, about ten years ago now, the world's best men's team headed to Brazil with glory on their minds, but it wouldn't be easy: home to loud and loyal fans of the sport's most storied national team, winning in Brazil would take a monumental effort. In fact, many thought it would be impossible. Global lenders know the feeling. Home to half of the people in South America, the Brazilian market is oh so tempting, but oh so hard to break into. But not impossible. Like Germany ten years ago, if you play it right, you can win.

In today's episode, I'm speaking to Vinícius de Andrade Vieira, Head of Business Development at BEXS - connecting Brazil to the world through a digital platform with payment and exchange solutions. We chat about fintech and BNPL in Brazil, the growing global trade, and how international companies can crack the market.

Bexs is over at: https://www.bexs.com.br/

Vinicisu is on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viniciusdeandradevieira/

And I' writing this from the airport, having lost track of the day in the pre-holiday chaos 😳 You can also find and follow me on LinkedIn (or connect) at: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=brendanlegrange

Otherwise, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Regards, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Advanced analytical models, with Dr Joseph Breeden (Deep Future Analytics) Aug 31, 2023

Show notes

Dr Joseph Breeden is an entrepreneur and a researcher. or perhaps I should describe him as an entrepreneur and a discoverer, so keen is his curiosity. And, with 30 years spent at the sharp point of credit analytics innovation, he is also a fantastic speaker on some of the most important topics of the day: machine learning, AI, and managing economic cycles among others. In fact, just yesterday, he delivered a phenomenal keynote address on the topics at the Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference in Edinburgh.

I was there, but if you weren't, don't worry, we have those insights and more on today's episode of HTLMTS.

Deep Future Analytics is at home on the internet at: https://deepfutureanalytics.com/

Joseph himself can be found on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephlbreeden/, or, if it is his research you're after, the root to all of that starts here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joseph-Breeden

Not content with just that, Jospeh is also the associate editor of two journals you may want to add to your reading list: https://www.risk.net/journal-of-risk-model-validation and https://www.risk.net/journal-of-credit-risk

Oh, and his work on forecasting the auction prices of fine wine can be found here: https://auctionforecast.com/

As mentioned, yesterday saw Joseph on the stage at a packed Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference in Edinburgh, delivering the opening keynote. It's an exceptional event for those in the industry and while you're busy missing this year's edition, it will be back in two years https://www.crc.business-school.ed.ac.uk/conferences

You can also find and follow me on LinkedIn (or connect) at: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=brendanlegrange

Otherwise, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Regards, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Resilience and speed, with Svitlanka Sergiichuk (NeoFin) Aug 24, 2023

Show notes

Today is Ukraine’s National Day, so there's no better time than to support the people in their endeavours to survive and resist the Russian invasion: donate to World Kitchen at https://donate.wck.org/give/499865/#!/donation/checkout or to Save Life in UA at https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate-en/#donate-army-card-monthly

“Launch any lending business in an hour.” Normally I write a bit of a blurb here, but really it comes down to that. Launch any lending business in an hour. Actually, as you’ll hear, it’s more like 20 minutes. In a world that is changing, you need to be able to change even faster, which is where no code solutions come to the fore. In today’s episode, I’m speaking to Svitlanka Sergiichuk Romaniuk, co-founder at Neofin - Ukrainian tech going global.

Follow the Neofin story over at https://neo-fin.com/

Svitlanka is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/svitlanaromaniuk/

And follow Neofin while you’re there: https://www.linkedin.com/company/neofin-solutions/

You can also find and follow me on LinkedIn (or connect) at: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=brendanlegrange

Otherwise, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Regards, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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