The online small-business lender is enjoying a payoff from its year-old push to cut costs and tighten underwriting standards. It is also set to announce another lending agreement with a major bank this year, its CEO said Tuesday.
Marquette Bank is proof that community banks don't have to be the fastest or flashiest to compete with online lenders. Instead, the Chicago bank closely mirrored fintech offerings while promoting personal service to set itself apart.
Social Finance set an internal goal of lending more money in 2017 than it had in the previous five years combined. It was an aggressive target and one that counted on everything going exactly right.
The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing Tuesday on the fintech industry as Congress is still beginning the conversation about what a legislative approach should look like.
David Nelms said that many digital lenders do not understand how to underwrite personal loans properly, and he took a dig at their lack of profitability. The upstarts say their industry's ability to attract capital speaks for itself.
Executives point out while they are fixing the online lender's very public problems, loan originations are still in the billions and it has expanded into wealth management.
