As we look back at 2011, we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on a successful year and especially to thank our many borrowers, investors and employees who made it all possible!
A record 21,721 loans for $257,363,650 were originated on the Lending Club platform during calendar 2011, more than double the $126,351,175 issued via 12,537 loans during calendar 2010! (Lending Club’s fiscal year ends March 31st.) Through December 31st, a total of $460,296,150 of personal loans have been originated since we commenced operations in 2007!
Who are some of the people who helped make 2011 a success?
- We welcomed more than 24,000 new investors who invested over $160,000,000 in Prime Consumer Notes.
- We now have 46 investors who have each invested $1,000,000 or more through our platform.
- 13,489 borrowers used Lending Club to consolidate their debts or pay off high interest credit cards – the most popular stated loan purposes in 2011. We also helped 1,680 borrowers finance home improvements and 975 invest in a small business.
Our Prime Consumer Notes have now generated 18 consecutive quarters of positive returns and provided a Net Annualized Return by grade of between 5.82% to 12.15% depending on loan grades.* Our notes generated $38,853,367 in interest for our investors, through December 31, 2011. Diversification continues to be a simple and effective strategy for investors, as every single investor with 800 or more Notes purchased directly from Lending Club has experienced positive returns, and 91.97% of these investors have returns between 6% and 18%.**
To accomplish and support this dramatic growth, we significantly expanded our talented team throughout 2011. Just 18 months after moving into our spacious Redwood City, CA headquarters, we found ourselves bursting at the seams and again relocated most of our employees to an even larger office in San Francisco’s Financial District. We also opened an East Coast office for LC Advisors, our wholly-owned subsidiary focused on serving institutional investors.
Our strong performance last year did not go unnoticed. In August, we were proud to announce a new equity investment of over $25 million in the Company, via a financing round lead by Union Square Ventures. The following month we announced that Thomvest also participated in the round, as well as became the cornerstone investor in LC Advisor’s new Conservative Consumer Credit Fund. We were also honored to be recognized for our growth and innovation with several prestigious awards, including being selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and named to Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies List.
We’re tremendously proud of what we accomplished in 2011 and have exciting plans in store for 2012!
* Prime Consumer Notes are fixed-income investments that generate monthly cash flow in the form of payments of principal and interest. Net Annual Return of individual grades as of December 14, 2011.
** All data as of December 14, 2011. Return calculations based on accounts that have invested in 800 or more unique borrowers for notes directly purchased from Lending Club. To be included in the Net Annualized Returns calculation, a Note must be originated at least 3 months prior to the calculation date. 800 Notes can be purchased with $20,000. The availability of Notes/unique borrowers is dependent on your investment criteria. There is no guarantee that you will be able to invest in 800 or more Notes/unique borrowers promptly, if at all. The foregoing is not directed to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs of any particular person and should not be considered investment advice. You should consider reviewing the prospectus with a financial advisor prior to investing.
Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Investments may lose value.
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