Lending Club Surpasses $500 Million in Personal Loans

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lending Club (http://www.lendingclub.com), the leading platform for investing in and obtaining personal loans, today announced that $500 million in loans have been originated via the platform since inception. Lending Club serves the needs of prime consumers who choose the lower interest rate loans available through Lending Club over more expensive credit cards.

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The San Francisco-based company commenced operations in 2007 and has exceeded 100 percent growth in loan volume each year since. More than a quarter-billion dollars in loans were originated on the platform in 2011, more than doubling the previous four years combined. Lending Club now averages more than $1 million in loan originations per day, with an average loan size of $10,945. The majority of borrowers (66.7 percent) say they use Lending Club's fixed-rate personal loan platform to pay off their high-interest credit cards.

Investments are also soaring: Lending Club now receives more than $30 million a month in new investments from a base of over 50,000 retail investors and a rapidly growing pool of institutional investors, with more than 50 investor accounts over $1 million and several accounts over $10 million. By focusing on loan originations to prime and super-prime quality borrowers and with less than 10 percent of submitted loan applications approved, Lending Club has established a four and a half-year track record in which its Prime Consumer Notes generated 18 consecutive quarters of positive returns and average annual returns of 5.8 percent to 12.3 percent depending on loan grades.(1) The company's wholly-owned subsidiary LC Advisors, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, launched two funds in 2011 that rapidly grew to more than $80 million in assets under management. 

Lending Club's year-over-year revenue more than doubled with calendar 2011 revenue reaching $12.8 million. The Lending Club team has expanded rapidly, with more than 25 new employees hired in 2011 bringing the company total to 78. Key hires included Chief Risk Officer Chaomei Chen, formerly chief risk officer with JP Morgan Chase Card Services and LC Advisors President Brad Pattelli, formerly co-portfolio manager of the levered loan group at New York-based hedge fund Angelo Gordon.

"Lending Club is a radically simple, new idea that is delivering value. We put the consumer back in the driver's seat and use technology to lower costs," said Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche. "Our process whereby investors provide capital to invest in loans made to borrowers is the simplest, most transparent and most efficient form of lending. Lending Club takes banking back to its roots."

About Lending Club
Lending Club utilizes technology and innovation to reduce the cost of traditional lending and offer borrowers better rates and investors better returns. Founded in 2006 and based in San Francisco, CA, Lending Club has been recognized for its results and innovation by the Harvard Business Review and Dow Jones, was named one of Forbes' America's Most Promising Companies in 2011 and recognized as a 2012 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. More information is available at: http://www.lendingclub.com.

Additional information about Lending Club is available in the prospectus for Lending Club's notes, which can be obtained on Lending Club's website at https://www.lendingclub.com/info/prospectus.action.  

Information in this press release is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Some of the statements in this above are "forward-looking statements." The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "will," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Currently only residents of the following states may invest in Lending Club notes: CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY (accredited investors), LA, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, NH, NV, NY, RI, SC, SD, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, or WY.

(1) Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.  Investments may lose value.

SOURCE Lending Club