Marketplace lending

Heavier second-quarter marketing expenses at OnDeck Capital highlight a concern throughout the marketplace lending industry: the high cost of customer acquisition as competition from banks and nonbank startups heats up.

Many online small-business lenders worry that future regulations could stymie innovation in this fast-growing industry. But well-designed requirements would simply ensure that online lenders can offer adequate borrower protections without giving up market share.

The small-business lender's shift 18 months ago to a marketplace player that sells loans to investors paid off handsomely in the second quarter.

An estimated 12 million Americans buy used cars through informal channels each year. Those consumers are underserved by traditional auto lenders, says Lending Club Chief Executive Renaud Laplanche.

Marlin Business Bank has launched a new site to compete with alternative lenders such as OnDeck and Kabbage, which specialize in providing quick and convenient access to small-business credit.

AssetAvenue, a marketplace lender that specializes in commercial real estate finance, announced that it has hired Peter Coleman as its chief financial officer.

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 from our social media platforms.

Student lending startup CommonBond has hired Morgan Edwards, a longtime Wall Street leveraged debt specialist, as its chief financial officer.

There is no reason a bank should be able to issue a loan and enjoy one set of rules while a marketplace lender, essentially issuing the same loan, must deal with a morass of conflicting state standards.

Bank groups hope rapid congressional action highlights the small-business lending program's political appeal, while nonbank lenders sense an opportunity.

In order for the financial services industry to achieve its full potential in the digital age, Silicon Valley must work together with banks and lawmakers to build technology that can modernize banking infrastructure while addressing regulatory and cybersecurity challenges.

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If the decision by the New York appeals court is upheld, banks and other lenders could have trouble finding buyers for credit card and other consumer loans.

One of the biggest U.S. mortgage lenders is looking to disrupt the disruptors in the market for peer-to-peer loans.

The federal government's first broad inquiry into the fast-growing peer-to-peer loan industry raises several important questions, including whether banks will lobby for a clampdown on these lightly regulated competitors.

Citigroup Inc. is preparing to bundle more than $300 million of loans originated through Prosper Marketplace Inc. into securities as Wall Street helps fuel the online-lending industry, people familiar with the deal said.

Marlette Funding is set to announce Friday that it has raised $75 million from investors including a fund affiliated with the Invus Group, a private-equity firm, and Navient Corp. The money will mainly be used to keep a portion of the loans Marlette originates through its website, MyBestEgg.com.

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 from our social media platforms.

Upstart, a marketplace lender founded by ex-Google employees, has more than doubled its funding after receiving an investment from a group led by activist hedge-fund investor Dan Loeb. The company plans to use the funds to improve its underwriting analytics.

The Treasury Department launched an inquiry into the marketplace lending industry on Thursday, seeking information on its business models, customers and whether such firms should be forced to keep some "skin in the game."