Marketplace lending

LendUp, which makes subprime consumer loans online and over mobile phones, announced Wednesday that it has raised $50 million in equity funding, plus an additional $100 million in debt financing.

BlueVine, a Palo Alto, Calif., firm that is aiming to modernize the invoice-financing business, announced a new fundraising round on Wednesday.

LoanHero, an online lender specializing in consumer loans at the cash register, announced that it has raised $2.5 million in seed funding.

Online lenders like Aprenita, Payability and Pollen VC have all launched within the last 13 months to fill a need they say is not being met by traditional banks, and only partially by venture capitalists and invoice-financing companies.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

Fundation Group, an online small-business lender, has hired an industry veteran as its first chief operating officer.

A compilation of our favorite stories of 2015, as selected by the people who assigned and edited them.

Maybe disruptors, not bankers, are the ones who need to worry about an abrupt paradigm shift. Though many bankers fear having fintech startups pick off the most profitable parts of their business, history suggests this "unbundling" of banks is a recurring, temporary phenomenon that is generally followed by a period of "rebundling."

The Seattle-based tech giant, in its latest foray into the financial services business, has begun offering installment loans to British consumers.

CommonBond, a New York firm that makes student loans through an online platform, said Tuesday that it has raised more than $275 million in debt funding from Barclays and others.

Opportunities abound, in affordable housing, capital raising, consumer lending and more. We aim to get you thinking about how new developments on many fronts could affect your business as you plan for the coming year and beyond.

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.