Autobiografía y memorias 47

Overall, the Canadian crowdfunding industry reached $190 million in 2016, and this indicates it is still nascent compared to more mature markets like the USA and UK (National Crowdfunding Association of Canada [NCFA], 2016). Although Canada is the world’s 10th _{largest economy} (based on nominal GDP), “its online alternative finance market is much smaller than the US market on both a per capita and total alternative finance volume basis” (Wardop et al., 2016, p. 25). This can be attributed to Canada’s heavily regulated banking sector, which is also dominated by six large banks, all of which are considered fairly cautious lenders. Consumer confidence in financial institutions is also very high, with less than 10% of Canadians reportedly willing to switch banks (Kiladze, 2014). In fact, most North American consumers are wary of online-only financial services providers, and it is estimated that only 1% of banking revenue has transferred to new digital models (Boyle, 2016).

Since its inception in 2013, the NCFA monitors the adoption and growth of online Canadian funding platforms. As of January 9, 2018, there were 98 platforms and service providers; the majority were donation and rewards-based (45), and the others were service providers (25), followed by equity (19) and then lending (9) (NCFA, 2018). As illustrated in Figure 1, below,

the total Canadian online alternative finance crowdfunding volume went from $100 million in 2013 to $190 million in 2016, which represents the latest data available. With only nine operating online lending portals as of January 9, 2018, it is clear that marketplace lending in Canada is still in its early phases. Nonetheless, it has quadrupled in size, as per Figure 2, which shows its volume went from $5 million in 2013 to $20 million in 2016.

Figure 2: Canadian Online Alternative Finance Crowdfunding Volume in $CAD (2013- 2016) (NCFA, 2016, p. 65)

Grouplend (now Grow) was considered Canada’s first marketplace lender when it launched in 2014 by exclusively utilizing capital from accredited and institutional investors to fund consumer loans in all provinces except Quebec and Nova Scotia (Geobey, 2015). Kevin Sandhu, CEO of Grow, declared the following in a press release (2014):

Banking in Canada doesn’t work for regular Canadians anymore. We’re accustomed to high fees, high interest rates, and poor customer service. For years, the sector as a whole has failed to innovate. Banks are making a fortune, and they’re taking it right from the pockets of everyday consumers through exorbitant fees and high interest rates on credit cards and consumer loans. Online lenders are an alternative to that. We think responsible, middle class Canadians deserve more affordable access to the money that they need to live their lives.

services industry as a whole, but especially the Big Six chartered banks whose profits topped $33.27 billion in 2014 (CBC News, 2015).

In 2015, the second marketplace lender, Borrowell, was launched and similar to Grow, it operates under an accredited investor-backed model. Along with providing personal loans, Borrowell was the first to offer free credit scores and reports to Canadian consumers without them needing to apply for credit first (Galang, 2016). Moreover, the fintech offers personalized recommendations based on people’s credit score, including third-party financial products in addition to their own products. Similar to Sandhu’s comments, Andrew Graham, CEO of Borrowell, said that “when it comes to borrowing money, there are traditional options and expensive options, and we think it’s time for an innovative option” (Borrowell, 2014). Finally, Lending Loop launched in 2016 and is considered the “first fully regulated peer-to-peer lending platform” that focuses on small business lending (Lending Loop, 2018). Currently, Lending Loop is one of the few platforms that accepts investments from non-accredited investors (i.e., retail investors), and has managed to appease regulators by offering SME loans backed by asset- based collateral (Hutchison, 2018).

When it comes to regulations, it is crucial to distinguish between financing that comes from institutionally funded entities, and financing that comes from a large pool of small-dollar

contributions via an online platform. This distinction is important because regulators are unlikely to apply the same degree of regulatory scrutiny on institutionally funded entities because of the sophisticated nature of the investors and the largely private nature of their activities (Omar Madar, Geobey, & Pigeon, 2017). The same cannot be said of small-dollar funded platforms, which will draw in relatively inexperienced investors whose investments resemble deposits, but nevertheless are governed under provincial securities regulation as opposed to banking

legislation.

Thus far, Canada’s small-dollar, online lending platforms have come under the regulatory

authority of provincial securities regulators, and consequently they “are required to follow all the same regulations and underwriting guidelines as their bank and lender counterparts that govern financial transactions with consumers” (NCFA, 2016, p. 32). Recently, in 2016, numerous

crowdfunding rules were introduced; these allowed retail investors to invest up to $10,000 annually in private capital markets (O’Hara, 2016). Moreover, to remain competitive with the rising trend of regulators adopting fintech innovation hubs (e.g., in Australia, the UK, and

Singapore), some Canadian provinces have introduced initiatives to support the development and market readiness of new online lending platforms, with examples including the BC Securities Commission’s Tech Team and the Ontario Securities Commission’s LaunchPad (Lalonde, 2017). However, the NCFA is advocating for a national securities regulatory framework (like the

Securities Exchange Commission in the USA) to improve engagement, data collection, and information sharing across the Canadian alternative lending space (NCFA, 2016). Lastly, with these regulatory changes we are able to observe that emerging marketplace lenders co-evolve with existing financial institutions, particularly credit unions who have been absent major fintech industry incumbents.