Private investments to Spanish FinTech companies fell again in 2016, continuing its steady decline since 2014. In contrast, the number of deals has doubled since 2014, with 40 FinTech deals closed last year. On average there have been 34 new FinTech Companies formed in Spain each year since 2014 and FinTech Global recorded 234 active FinTech companies in Spain...

Kabbage, an SME lending platform, is in the process of raising $161m according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm appears to have already raised just over 50 per cent of the total, having collected $80.5m to date. Two months ago, Kabbage announced a $250m investment from Softbank Group. The start-up said the capital is being used...

Israeli equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has expanded its Iberian operations by opening an office in Madrid. The new office, which expands the company’s footprint to seven countries, will act as ‘a gateway into South America’ according to founder John Medved. It already has offices in Israel, the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and has plans to expand in the United Kingdom. As a part of the...

Poland-based Insurance comparison platform Mfind.pl has reportedly netted an undisclosed funding round.

Virtual claims InsurTech provider Snapsheet has formed a partnership with KeyBank to launch a payment solution for insurance claims. Snapsheet, which provides virtual claims technology for the personal and commercial insurance marketplace, said it will partner with KeyBank, a US bank-based financial services company, for the launch of Snapsheet Transactions. The new platform will enable carriers to issue claims and expense...

Chinese carmaker Geely Group is increasing its stake in Saxo Bank to more than 50 per cent, with Nordic financial services company Sampo Group also backing the Danish business. Geely, which announced plans to take a 30 per cent stake in Saxo Bank as part of a ‘diversification drive’ back in May, will increase its stake and become majority shareholder...

Renters insurance solution Canopy has sold a 15 per cent stake of its company to Direct Line Insurance.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has launched a RegTech sandbox to enabled qualified firms to test their regulated activities. The SFC said the Regulatory Sandbox will provide a confined regulatory environment for qualified firms to conduct regulated activities utilising financial technologies (Fintech). It will help firms identify and address any ‘risks or concerns’ associated with their regulated activities before...

HR, benefits and compliance platform Flock has secured a $3.5m Series A equity round led by The Hartford, alongside participation from existing investors.

UK-based crowdfunding platform Seedrs has closed a £10m financing round by raising £6m from its own crowdfunding platform. Seedrs said the new investment round, which includes a previously announced £4m investment from Woodford Investment Management, values the startup at £50m on a fully-diluted, post-money basis. Over 2,000 people from 35 countries backed the startup over the course of the five-day campaign,...