In today’s briefing:
- Chiba Bank – Short Term Borrowing Surges, Just at the Wrong Time
- Closing Lufax
- Crypto Crisp: Imminent Surge in Liquidity
- Upstart Holdings Inc.: Enhanced Model Accuracy and Funnel Throughput! – Major Drivers
- India Shelter Finance US$240m Lock-Up Expiry – Multi-Bagger Gains Are Ripe for the Taking
- Centrepoint Alliance (ASX:CAF)
- Selfwealth (ASX:SWF)
Chiba Bank – Short Term Borrowing Surges, Just at the Wrong Time
- Short term borrowing rose 2.3x in the past four quarters, alongside rising interest rates
- During this time, long term borrowings were actually down, so no locking in of low rates
- As such, Chiba is not fully, or hardly benefiting from BOJ policy changes, with NIM down
Closing Lufax
- It has come to my attention that Lufax management has recently altered the terms of their convertible debt: Based on the terms and conditions of the Ping An Convertible Promissory Notes, as a result of the Special Dividend, the Conversion Price will be adjusted from US$12.
- Based on the terms and conditions of the Ping An Convertible Promissory Notes, as a result of the Special Dividend, the Conversion Price will be adjusted from US$12.76 per Share as at the date of this circular to US$2.32 per Share upon settlement of the Special Dividend, and thus, upon full conversion, the Ping An Convertible Promissory Notes can be converted into a maximum number of 421,077,586 Shares (the “Conversion Shares”).
- The Company considers that the adjustment formula is in line with market practice for anti-dilution provisions in convertible securities.
Crypto Crisp: Imminent Surge in Liquidity
- Last Wednesday, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May was released, showing soft inflation.
- However, during the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) subsequent FOMC meeting on the same day, the Fed was more hawkish than expected, indicating only a 25 basis points interest rate cut this year.
- This led to declines across the crypto market.
Upstart Holdings Inc.: Enhanced Model Accuracy and Funnel Throughput! – Major Drivers
- Upstart has reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2024, showing several positives and negatives.
- The company, a leader in AI-enabled lending, has been proactive in adjusting its operational strategies to align with current economic conditions while also planning for sustainable growth.
- Focusing on the positives, Upstart announced a decrease in fixed expenses due to reduced headcount and streamlined operations, which saved the company approximately $20 million annually.
India Shelter Finance US$240m Lock-Up Expiry – Multi-Bagger Gains Are Ripe for the Taking
- India Shelter Finance (0570670D IN) listed in India on 20th Dec 2023 after raising US$144m. The pre-IPO investors had trimmed a portion of their stakes in the IPO
- India Shelter Finance (ISF) is a retail-focused HFC targeting the self-employed customer with a focus on first time home loan takers in the low and middle income group.
- Coming up for six-month lockup expiry on 18th Jun 2024 are the firm’s pre-IPO shareholders and a portion of the promoters’ stakes.
Centrepoint Alliance (ASX:CAF)
- Centrepoint Alliance (ASX:CAF) is an Australian financial services business providing licensing in both financial and credit advice along with a managed portfolios business and support services such as assistance with Xplan implementation (Financial Planning software.
- Centrepoint is a business I have been following for many years, having owned it myself in the past when it was a net-net.
- Back then it was paying significant amounts of cash to legacy clients claiming remediation for fee-for-no-service complaints.
Selfwealth (ASX:SWF)
- Selfwealth is an ASX-listed online broker Selfwealth is ironically the domestic broker the trust uses with me having used it for over 6 years with great satisfaction.
- Comparing ASX pricing of Selfwealth to some of its primary competitors it is worthwhile to note that the cheapest broker I could find is Superhero which just this month introduced $2 brokerage fees on ASX trades up to $20,000 as it engages in a price war with Stake.
- Selfwealth at a price of $9.50 might seem monumental in comparison, but I would say that Selfwealth has a $9.50 regardless of trade size, making trades >$95,000 cheaper than both Stake and Superhero.
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