Small business, marketplace lender, Kabbage, has announced two new executive hires; the executive hires will focus on technology and data as the company seeks to expand and gain greater market share in online small business lending; Amala Duggirala will join Kabbage as the chief technology officer and Rama Rao will be the chief data officer. Source
Electronic document management is a key aspect of marketplace lending and eOriginal is one of the ecosystem's document management providers; Lend Academy interviews Steve Bisbee of eOriginal in their podcast; eOriginal has been in business since 1996, first focusing on original electronic documents for mortgages, then working with auto financing and expanding into many other areas of lending; in 2012 the company began exploring marketplace lending involvement after the suggestion from an investment bank; eOriginal's first marketplace lending customer was SoFi in 2013 and they have added many more since then; as a well established business, eOriginal also has a good perspective on the regulatory requirements involving data integrity which is also helping industry progression. Source
Marketplace lender, LendingHome, has reached a new milestone; firm has funded over $750 million in mortgage loans since its launch in April 2014; claims to be the largest mortgage marketplace lender; firm attributes the rapid growth to a broader range of investors, now including retail investors, and the secured status of the real estate loans; Matt Humphrey, LendingHome CEO, shares additional thoughts in the included Q&A. Source
In a press release this week, marketplace lender, SoFi, provided more details on its partnership with Protective and announced the launch of a new term life insurance offering for millennials; product provides life insurance for up to $1 million and features a 20 minute application and approval process. Source
Marketplace lender, Peerform, has been acquired by Versara Lending; Versara is a New York City-based consumer lender seeking to expand its lending business in consumer loans; Peerform will enhance the lending capabilities for Versara and Peerform Founder Mikael Rapaport will join Versara Lending as a senior vice president. Source
According to the Wall Street Journal, former Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche has started a new online lender called Credify; the company has setup offices in the financial district of San Francisco and was incorporated less than a month after leaving Lending Club; former Lending Club executives Jeff Bogan and Adelina Grozdanova have also joined the new company; it plans to make its first loans in 2017. Source
The Department of Justice's case against Quicken Loans will be heard in Detroit; in an ongoing case filed in April 2015, the Department of Justice says Quicken Loans used faulty underwriting processes to certify Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans while disregarding FHA rules; Quicken is a direct endorsement lender for the FHA and the loans in the court case were originated from September 2007 through December 2011. Source
Prosper released its October 2016 performance report with the month's estimated return of 7.12% just below the estimate of 7.17% for the third quarter; in October, vintage prepayment rates continued to trend higher; delinquencies and loss patterns since 2013 are below levels in 2012; cumulative gross charge-offs appear to be a factor trending higher; average FICO of the portfolio was 714.1 in October. Source
DealStruck, an online lender for small and medium-sized businesses, has stopped originating loans; the industry environment and slowdown in investor capital has affected the company; the firm's CEO Ethan Senturia said, "Although we are not currently originating new loans, we are continuing to provide our clients with the high-level of service they have come to expect from us."; he also noted, "we’ll be looking for strategic options to allow us to continue delivering on our mission to provide unique, appropriate and affordable financing to small businesses nationwide." Source
LiftForward has obtained a $100 million credit facility through funding from Monroe Capital; LiftForward is a New York City-based marketplace lender for manufacturers, distributors and retailers; the firm offers credit of up to $1 million per transaction; in addition to credit products the firm also offers its customers a platform to sell their products as a hardware as a service subscription. Source