Marketplace lending

Once billed as a safer alternative to traditional finance, the new crop of tech-powered lenders is starting to resemble previous generations of finance companies whose fortunes rose and fell with each economic cycle.

Everyday investors provide marketplace lenders a cushion in case institutional buyers find greener pastures. But regulatory hurdles and an addiction to fast growth are making it difficult for the platforms to lure those coveted savers.

A year ago we asked BankThink contributors to make bold predictions about how the financial industry would evolve in 2015. Here's a look back at their forecasts and the actual outcomes.

Lending Club, the nation's largest marketplace lender, announced Tuesday that it has raised interest rates on its new loans by an average of 0.25% in the wake of the Federal Reserve Board's recent rate hike.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered payday and pawn lender EZCorp Inc. to pay $10.5 million for alleged illegal debt collection tactics.

Ally Financial, seeking new sources of customers, will finance used cars sold through Beepi, an 18- month-old website that lets people buy vehicles with a few clicks and no test drive.

The $933-million asset institution said in a press release Tuesday that the technology, provided by Louisville-based R.C. Giltner Services, will enable consumer and small-business customers to complete the loan application process in minutes.

California regulators on Monday identified 14 companies that the state is targeting as part of its recently announced inquiry into the marketplace lending industry.

Relations between banks and fintech companies are starting to thaw as the two sides begin to acknowledge the advantages of scale that exist when they join forces.