Lending Club Loan Review
This review of LendingClub will give an overview of the company’s history, compatibility, services, website and the reputation it has among its customers. Operating with a different setup to most online lenders we also look at what makes LendingClub unique. Read on for our full LendingClub review below.
LendingClub Review in Numbers: 2022 Updated
💰 Loan Amount |
$5,000 to $500,000 |
💸 Loan Term |
1 to 5 years |
⛔ Unsecured? |
Unsecured for loans/lines under $100,000 |
⌚ Requirements |
|
⭐ Client Reviews |
98% |
🌐 Website: |
Lendingclub.com |
🌝 Easy to Apply: |
Yes |
📃 Required: |
|
💳 Minimal Interest Rates |
10.68% |
💌 Online Feedback: |
4.9 / 5 Trust Score on TrustPilot |
🏆 Awards and Recognition: |
|
LendingClub Review Summary
Overall
-
Credibility - 100%
100%
-
Client Reviews - 98%
98%
-
Website - 75%
75%
-
Compatibility - 90%
90%
Editor's Conclusions
LendingClub is an extremely reputable company that’s essentially been around as long as Facebook (and as explained below, used Facebook’s success). The customer experiences of the platform are second-to-none. The downside is that the website is extremely busy, and the requirements for approval are harder than some of its competitors.
Credibility & Company Story
How LendingClub Started
LendingClub is a US company that’s headquartered in San Francisco. The company was founded in 2006 and was made public in 2014. The company actually launched as a Facebook Application, in the early days of the social media website. This helped grow the company of course, as Facebook grew unprecedentedly.
They received over $10 million in funding in the summer of 2007. But in 2008, they temporarily stopped registrations for the platform until they had the approval to issue ‘notes’ to lenders. With a ton of bureaucracy and administration in front of them, they didn’t begin their new business model until the end of 2008. From here, they underwent several more rounds of funding.
LendingClub co-founder Renaud Laplanche had a somewhat challenging time as founder of LendingClub. He was CEO of LendingClub until the company went public in 2014. By 2016, he was forced to resign from the very company he had created.
How did LendingClub Become an Industry Leader?
LendingClub is a huge company. They’re bigger than most small business loan companies you will come across. This is for many reasons, but being a P2P company as well as being 14 years old certainly helps. With almost 2,000 employees, LendingClub has facilitated over $28 billion in loans to over 3 million customers.
Being P2P LendingClub has as much focus on satisfying its lenders as it does its borrowers. LendingClub has done a good job at letting investors pick a risk profile, and make up a diversified portfolio. With more investments and different levels of risk comes more opportunity for both lenders and borrowers. It was also the first company in the industry to register its offerings as securities, as well as having a loan trading secondary market. This really put the company ahead of its competitors. The 2014 IPO also resulted in 56% price growth on day 1 of trading, valuing the company at $8.5bn.
Leading Private Investors in LendingClub
LendingClub isn’t actually run on private investors’ money. Instead, they’re closer to a P2P system. The investors are essentially made public; you can invest and diversify your portfolio by choosing notes (small fragments) of many different loans from people. Thus, you don’t lend the borrower their whole loan; it isn’t personalized at all. As far as the investor can see, they are picking notes based on a risk profile to create a portfolio.
In Detail: What LendingClub Does
Although you can get a loan up to $500,000, they won’t ask for collateral for loans under $100,000. Above this, you will have a blanket lien on business assets — no personal assets will be used as collateral.
Applications take 5 minutes, and terms range between 1 and 5 years with all capital upfront.
The total annualized rate is between 9.77% and 35.98% — and their lowest interest rates are 4.99%. This is reasonably competitive for the small business loans industry and is far from the most expensive option. On top of this, there’s no early repayment fee. You can eliminate interest by paying off the loan whenever you can.
Additionally, the fixed monthly payments are much more accommodating to a business’ cash flow than other lenders, who require daily or weekly repayments. You will also have a dedicated, US-based advisor, which can be invaluable if you have problems.
If you’re looking for a personal loan, then LendingClub has a lot of other options. The personal loans specifically only go up to $40,000, but there’s also Auto Refinancing for those who are paying car payments, and also patient solutions to help finance doctor or dentist care.
LendingClub Business Loans Client Reviews
There are 1,055 LendingClub reviews on TrustPilot, out of which 89% are ‘excellent’, 7% ‘great’, 1% average and only 2% bad.
The Feedback:
Most of the LendingClub reviews are very positive and their clients seem to recommend these services:
“Quick and easy process and great communication”
“I’ve had several loans through Lending Club and this latest one has been no different. Absolutely a wonderful experience. Simple easy process and quick funding into my bank account. I will continue to borrow from Lending Club in the future when I need to.”
“I found the process to be very easy and stress-free. The results were favorable for me and came in a timely manner. Thank you for the chance to take care of some issues that need quick resolution”.
Analysis of Client Reviews:
1,055 LendingClub reviews are not a lot for a business that has been around as long as LendingClub has but the majority of them are very positive. With only 2% of all LendingClub reviews being negative, the overall verdict is clear – LendingClub is a reliable funding provider that is very easy to apply for and has quick service. The loan amount is reasonably flexible, though being the platform isn’t accommodating to very new startups or those with poor credit.
Lendingclub.com Website Review
LendingClub’s website stands out compared to most of its competitors — but not in a good way. The home page is extremely busy, with lots going on, lots of different designs, sections and information.
When you click on a page from the menu, such as “business loans”, the page you’re taken to doesn’t have a menu. You’re led down a dead-end, making the navigation of the site extremely poor.
Whilst its design and such isn’t as clear or appealing, it does have one advantage — they have a lot of information and are reasonably transparent. For example, the “help” page is very good with lots of useful answers to questions.
LendingClub has an IOS and Android app. Though, unsurprisingly, they’re both poorly rated with users (less than 50% rating).
LendingClub Loan Compatibility
Startup — Must have been trading for at least a year
Bad Credit — No, only accepting of 640 or better
Sole Trader — Have both personal loans and business loans
Established Business — Accepted
LendingClub Short Review
LendingClub is a great option for many customers, as seen by their reviews. The downside is that not everyone can be a customer if they are extremely new to business or have a poor credit rating. The website is below par compared to competitors, as well as their mobile app, but the service itself is extremely fair and cutting edge — shown by the positive reviews and low starting rate of 4.99%.
Submit an Expedited Application to LendingClub the link below.