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:
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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Today, we're excited to receive a nod from Harvard Business Review, which has highlighted social lending as a Breakthrough idea for 2009.
"Whenever people come together to create a pool of capital, the potential for wealth creation blossoms. ...the internet and social networks enable peer-to-peer interaction on an unprecedented scale." - John Sviokla
Hit up the full read at HarvardBusiness.org.
Yesterday on ABC, Renaud was interviewed by Jackie Hyland on "Money Matters". To check out the discussion of how social lending can be part of solving the current economic crisis, watch the video here.
For some of the latest details on Lending Club including on the reactivated growth we’ve seen since reopening our platform last week (offering Notes by Prospectus), and thoughts on how our new secondary market now empowers people with even more ways to do things that previously only banks and other corporate financial entities could do, check out recent discussions Renaud’s had with Yahoo! Finance, The Wall Street Journal, NuWire Investor and Fox Business.
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