We all knew this was coming but this morning it became official. Earlier today Lending Club crossed over $500 million in new loans originated since they started operations in 2007. In fact, it has been quite a rapid start to the month for Lending Club with nearly $10 million in new loans issued in the first day and a half of February.
You should go and read the press release announcing this milestone. In this release they announced that 2011 revenue came in at $12.8 million – they also released this interesting tidbit:
Investments are also soaring: Lending Club now receives more than $30 million a month in new investments from a base of over 50,000 retail investors and a rapidly growing pool of institutional investors, with more than 50 investor accounts over $1 million and several accounts over $10 million.
About a year ago I remember an article quoting Lending Club as having 25 accounts of more than $1 million, it looks like they doubled that number last year. This doesn’t include all the big money investors at LC Advisors, their private placement fund for accredited investors. That has grown from zero to $80 million under management in the last year.
Prosper Crosses $300 Million in Total New Loans
It was a big week for round number milestones. Prosper also sent out a press release earlier this week announcing they have surpassed $300 million in new loans issues since their inception.
While Prosper’s announcement was eclipsed by Lending Club, it is healthy for the industry to have two fast growing players. Now, I will be even more impressed when we can see these higher numbers trickle down to the bottom line. Both companies, particularly Lending Club, should be making serious inroads towards profitability in coming months.
