Lending Club Wins Transpacific Yacht Race

HONOLULU, July 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lending Club (https://www.lendingclub.com) today announced that its 73-foot offshore trimaran, "Lending Club," has won the 47^th Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) in the multihull division and had the fastest overall elapsed time, coming in at 5 days, 11 hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds. This time was the Transpac's second-fastest ever, within two and a half hours of the race record established in 1997.

The Lending Club, sailed by a Tritium Racing team of nine accomplished sailors including Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche, encountered an unusually high amount of debris as it sailed through the Pacific Ocean, including a telephone pole that heavily damaged the centerboard, forcing the crew to stop for over 10 hours of repairs. Much of the debris is suspected to have originated from the tsunami caused by the March 2011 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan.

"This was an eventful race, and that we not only came in first but finished so close to the race record is a testament to the skill and dedication of the Tritium Racing team and the constant innovation that continues to make sailing faster and safer," Laplanche said. "We were attempting to break the race record this year and came in very close—we'll be back!"

First raced in 1906, Transpac is one of yachting's premier offshore races and attracts entrants from all over the world. More than 60 boats competed in this year's race.

About the Transpacific Yacht Race
Started in 1906, the Transpacific Race is the longer of the two oldest ocean races in the world. The race was inspired by King Kalakaua who believed that such an event would strengthen the islands' economic and cultural ties to the mainland. Clarence MacFarlane, a Honolulu racing sailor, invited several contemporaries in San Francisco and Los Angeles to race to the Hawaiian Islands. The race was scheduled to start from San Francisco in the early summer of 1906, but when MacFarlane sailed into San Francisco Bay he found the city lying in ruins following the great earthquake 27 days earlier. MacFarlane donated supplies to the city and changed the starting point to Los Angeles, and except for one nostalgic return to San Francisco for the start in 1939, the race has started from LA ever since. The starting line is now off the bluffs of Point Fermin in San Pedro and the finish is off the Diamond Head lighthouse just east of Honolulu, establishing a distance of 2,225 nautical miles.

About Lending Club
Lending Club utilizes technology and innovation to reduce the cost of traditional banking and offer borrowers better rates and investors better returns. Over $2 billion in personal loans have been issued through the Lending Club platform, which has more than doubled annual loan volume each year since launching in 2007.  The Company is profitable and has been prominently recognized as a leader for its growth and innovation, including being named one of Forbes' America's Most Promising Companies in 2011 and 2012, a 2012 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and one of The World's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Finance by Fast Company in 2013. Lending Club is based in San Francisco, California. More information is available at: https://www.lendingclub.com. 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, MN, MO, MS, MT, NH, NV, NY, RI, SD, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, or WY.

About Tritium Racing
Tritium Racing acquired an ORMA 73 as a platform to set several Pacific Ocean race records. The boat is a modified ORMA (Offshore Racing Multi-hull Association) 60 now lengthened to 73'. The team won Transpac in July 2013 with an exceptional crew including Ryan Breymaier, Howard Hamlin, Renaud Laplanche, Gino Morrelli, Will Oxley, John Sangmeister, Peter Stoneberg, Jay Steinbeck and Erik Berzins.

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.

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.

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.

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SOURCE Lending Club