Marketplace lending

CircleUp is offering lines of credit to early-stage consumer brands, which can often only get financing at high interest rates.

MPOWER Financing announced a deal Tuesday with Bank of Lake Mills in Wisconsin that will enable the Washington, D.C.-based company to lend to students in all 50 states.

Social Finance’s application for an industrial loan charter has not only drawn opposition from a coalition of incumbent banks and community activists, it also serves as a microcosm of several perennial debates in financial services policy.

Readers question acting comptroller Noreika, weigh in on SoFi’s charter application, defend Trump’s exit from the Paris Accord, and more.

The marketplace lender's application for an industrial bank charter is under fire from small banks and progressives, who say it could violate the barrier between banking and commerce and shut out middle-class and lower-income consumers.

The banking industry is evolving. Doesn’t it make more sense to focus on how to evolve with it rather than how to reduce competition?

The firm’s latest financial outlook suggests an opportunity to earn profits comparable to those recorded by large, well-established credit card issuers.

While some policymakers are open to accommodating fintech companies with looser oversight compared with banks, the New York State superintendent is unapologetic about her tough approach.

Readers this week highlighted the need for banks to upgrade payments systems, debated a small bank’s decision to ditch its legacy core vendor, lamented populist initiatives of the GSEs, and more.

Klarna, the Swedish fintech that recently received a banking license, has already inspired a generation of similar fintech competitors.

The subprime business lender halted new business and laid off scores of employees after recording higher-than-expected losses.

The addition of Sean Glithero as CFO is one of several new hires by the online small-business lender.

The promise of fintech is that it might offer underbanked consumers access to financial products. But some are worried that relying on algorithms to make credit decisions could open up problems of its own.

Readers criticized a credit union securitization proposal, weighed in on scaling back the CFPB’s complaint database, debated the need for banks to examine gender-based salary comparisons, and more.

The move comes at a time when both Prosper and the broader industry it helped to pioneer are struggling.

The online small-business lender has also announced the hiring of a new U.S. head of capital markets.

The New York-based company saw its fortunes fade after riding an earlier wave of investor enthusiasm about marketplace lending.

LendUp is seeking to differentiate itself from competitors by making fast loan decisions and designing its customer experience around the mobile phone.

Sponsoring securitizations of the loans funded on its platform will give LendingClub more control over its reputation in the market and make it less beholden to direct loan buyers.

Operational changes may be enticing to investors, but they threaten the very foundation of marketplace lending, potentially shutting out those the burgeoning sector was meant to serve.