In this video, a Lending Club borrower explains what it is like to get a personal loan at a lower rate. An Investor also shares his experience investing in hundreds of borrowers and getting a better return while helping them.

Originally aired on WUSA-TV in Washington, DC on September 29, 2010: "Need Money? Ask A Peer".

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Lending Club: Better Rates. Together.

@RobGarciaSJ

This morning most news media outlets reported their reactions to remarks made earlier by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at a bankers conference in Chicago.  Although reporters do not seem to agree on what it all means, two clear statements about bank lending came out of it:

1. Credit remains tight and banks are still not lending to sound borrowers.
2. Bank lending continues to shrink despite massive government efforts.

Perhaps Bernanke does not know yet about Lending Club, but the exact opposite is happening here: first, Lending Club rates are designed to reward creditworthy borrowers with better rates on personal loans; and second, our volume continues to grow at a 5-10% rate every single month to date: in April alone, Lending Club issued more than $9.5 mm in loans.

Here is a round-up of media coverage of Bernanke's remarks so you can make your own assessment:

Associated Press: "Banks should make loans to sound borrowers" by Jeannine Aversa
The Wall Street Journal: "Bernanke warns of small-bank risks" by Luca Di Leo
Market Watch: "Bernanke optimistic about bank lending outlook" by Greg Robb
The Economic Times: "US bank lending still shrinking: Bernanke"
Reuters: "Bernanke sees more conservative securitization mkt" by Kristine Cooke
CNN Money: "Bernanke: Fed's not waiting for Congress on reform" by Ben Rooney Bloomberg
BusinessWeek: "Bernanke sees 'reasons for optimism' on bank credit" by Scott Lanman and Vivien Lou Chen

What do you think it all means?  Leave us a comment below.

@RobGarciaSJ

Our friends at Foundation Capital invested quite a bit of money in our company this morning, and were joined by existing investors Morgenthaler Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Canaan Partners.

Besides bringing our team the pleasant feeling of waking up with an extra $24.5M in our bank account, the additional resources will be helpful in many ways. This investment will help us complete new projects faster, including new loan products for borrowers, new investment tools for investors, a series of improvements to our website (including performance improvements, thank you for your patience) and other enhancements that will continue to make your Lending Club experience increasingly more rewarding. The funds will also help us expand our reach to a larger pool of customers and continue growing our community.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our shareholders for their enthusiastic support, and thank you our members who have grown the Lending Club community at an incredibly fast pace over the last 12 months, increasing our monthly loan volume from $2.3M in February 2009 to $8.6M in March 2010 to capture 79% of the US peer lending market last month.

So the day started quite well here. How’s your day going? Leave us a comment.

Best, Renaud

I did not expect to be reminiscing about 2009 this early in the new year.  But I now find myself looking back and marveling at how Lending Club went from half-operating in 2008, to getting through the registration process with the SEC in October of 2008, to then become a world leader in peer-to-peer lending in 2009 due to a hugely successful year.

In 2009, Lending Club originated nearly $52 million dollars in loans while we turned away almost half a billion dollars in demand.   In December 2009 alone, Lending Club issued $7.1 million dollars in loans, more than 3 times the rest of the US industry combined (Total US P2P loan origination volume was $9.32 million dollars in December 2009).

In 2009, we accomplished other major feats:

• We hit $500 Million in loan demand
• Our Average Net Annualized returns remained above 9%
• We Launched the first and only No-Fee IRA for P2P investors
• We revolutionized the p2p investing user experience with new investor tools

All this growth and success were created by and for you, our community of savvy investors and borrowers, who continue to earn better-than-average returns or save hundreds of dollars on your monthly loan payments.

So what does 2010 have in store for us?  I believe that in 2010 we will continue to accelerate growth.  We feel that peer lending has reached a level of maturity, operates at a level of transparency and has a track record that makes it ready for prime time.  We are not the only ones that believe this fact, Gartner predicts that “[b]y 2013, P2P lending will soar at least 66 per cent to $5 billion of outstanding loans.”  See full report

So hop on, sign up if you haven’t already, and let’s make 2010 another great year to remember in 2011.

@RobGarciaSJ

Yesterday morning our CEO, Renaud Laplanche, appeared on Fox Business News and discussed how Lending Club is leading the charge in a rapidly growing peer-to-peer lending space.

Check out Renaud on Fox Business News >>

We all know peer-to-peer lending is a fast growing alternative for those looking for a personal loan. Lending Club offers an easy, confidential and secure way of getting a loan without involving your bank.

On the investors side, Lending Club notes average 9.66% net annualized returns. Lending Club notes are offered by prospectus filed with the SEC.

My favorite part of the interview was when Renaud points out that Lending Club is not an option for those with weak credit histories, but instead, Lending Club is an alternative for creditworthy borrowers. That is, smart borrowers looking to get rates that are often lower than those offered by banks or credit card companies.

Enjoy the interview!

Rob

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