Marketplace lending

Fed up with the hassles of applying for a multitude of state licenses and relying on bank partners, fintech firms are increasingly interested in applying for a national bank charter — and federal regulators are considering ways to accommodate them.

LendingClub Corp. founder and Chief Executive Officer Renaud Laplanche resigned after an internal review of loan sales to a single investor. President Scott Sanborn will be acting CEO.

Square's practice of using its merchant transaction data for risk analysis may seem innovative, but other agile specialists — including Intuit — are finding ways to use new data streams to limit risk and deliver funds to borrowers.

A proposed class-action lawsuit against LendingClub threatens investors in bonds backed by its loans and similar debt even if the plaintiff loses, Moody's Investors Service said Thursday.

Prosper Marketplace's decision to eliminate 22% of its workforce is more evidence that the bloom is off the rose for a sector that had been enjoying astronomical growth.

The Treasury Department will release a white paper next week outlining "research and recommendations' related to marketplace lending as a capstone to its nearly yearlong inquiry into the fast-growing industry.

The hits that alternative lenders like OnDeck Capital are taking shouldn't be a surprise for an industry built on unsustainable business models.

Prosper Marketplace Inc., one of the largest U.S. online lending platforms, is slashing its workforce 28 percent, joining rivals in signaling investors aren’t as eager to fund loans after years of rapid growth.

Some buyers are hanging in there, but as OnDeck Capital's disappointing first-quarter results show, investors who acquire and securitize marketplace loans are heading for hills. Among the reasons: fear of defaults, unfavorable pricing and shrinking loan yields.

OnDeck Capital reported a quarterly loss of $12.6 million as revenues fell short of expectations. At the same time, the New York firm sharply reduced its earnings projection for the rest of the year.

With consumers generally averse to risk, financial institutions have an opportunity to rethink what it means to make bets in line with their customers' well-being.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup said Wednesday it plans to use the investment to help grow its cloud-based factoring platform for small businesses and expand into new market segments.

With the purchase of Sweep, Max Levchin's firm is betting that daily engagement with consumers will pay long-term dividends.

How two midsize banks and a marketplace lender are relying on chief culture officers to maintain a lively work environment and preserve their values amid M&A and organic growth.

CommonBond, an online lender that specializes in student loan refinancing, announced Monday that it has sold $150 million of bundled loans to investors.

Recent prosecutions against lenders accused of usury violations will test the government's use of a law more commonly known in organized crime cases.

Illinois, California and New York are all taking initial steps to try to crack down on borrower abuses in the fast-growing digital lending marketplace. The states are facing pressure to intervene because federal agencies have yet to take decisive action.

Capital continues to flow freely into financial technology ventures, many of which are repositioning themselves as aspiring partners for banks rather than would-be disruptors.

Lending Club said Thursday that it has hired Sameer Gulati, formerly of McKinsey & Co., to be its chief operations officer and promoted another executive, Scott Sanborn, to president. Both are newly created positions at the nonbank lender.

LendingClub Corp., a pioneer of online marketplace lending, said it raised rates for borrowers again to reflect a gloomier economic outlook and worse-than-expected performance for some of its riskiest loans.