Renaud Laplanche has announced the launch of a new online consumer lending platform called Upgrade; the firm's investors include Apoletto, CreditEase, FirstMark Capital, Noah Holdings, Ribbit Capital, Sands Capital Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Union Square Ventures, Uprising and Vy Capital; the firm will partner with WebBank for loan originations and plans to sell its loans to institutional investors; it is working with Jefferies on its capital markets strategy and a loan securitization program; the firm also has plans to use blockchain for data management and transactions. Source
According to the Wall Street Journal, former Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche has started a new online lender called Credify; the company has setup offices in the financial district of San Francisco and was incorporated less than a month after leaving Lending Club; former Lending Club executives Jeff Bogan and Adelina Grozdanova have also joined the new company; it plans to make its first loans in 2017. Source
It came as a complete shock to everyone. When I woke up on May 9th last year I could not...
Business Insider interviewed Renaud Laplanche last week at LendIt Europe; on his exit from Lending Club, Laplanche stated, “It was very, very frustrating. I'm not commenting on the story, but the best way to actually understand what really happened is to read the filings. I think the press made it sound a lot worse, a lot more sensational, than it really was.”; he is taking what he learned from building Lending Club and applying it to his new company Upgrade; Laplanche stated that he hopes to launch a new product each year with possible expansion into mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, home equity and lines of credit. Source
SuperMoney reviews the new US consumer lending platform founded by Renaud Laplanche; firm is an online lender focused on personal loans, also offering consumer credit monitoring and education for its customers with benefits for high quality borrowers; SuperMoney outlines the platform's underwriting standards, application process, and pros and cons versus competitors. Source
Renaud Laplanche launched his new online lending firm at the beginning of April; Upgrade raised $60 million for its launch and is reportedly valued at $168 million; the company will compete directly with many unsecured consumer lenders offering loans from $2,000 to $50,000; a key part of the offering will be a mobile app to help borrowers manage their finances which has yet to be released. Source
One of the true pioneers of the fintech space joins us for the show today. This is someone who has...
When I first read the news when I woke up this morning I thought it must have been a joke....
What a day. Everyone is still trying to digest the big news from Lending Club this morning. More details are...
In his interview with AltFi, Laplanche reflects on his experience at LendingClub and how that has helped him shape his...