Lending Club, the world’s largest Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending Platform, who has facilitated over $6 billion of consumer lending in the US, listed on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.
It is more than just the largest IPO for a tech company this year, it’s also planting the flag for an entire ecosystem of companies, such as Proplend, engaged in overturning the ways in which the world deals with money and lending.
The stock listed at $15 and rose 65% to close the day at $23.
Peer-to-peer lending lets investors lend directly to individuals and businesses and uses low-cost online platforms to reduce the difference between low return on deposits and high interest rates for consumer credit. Proplend offers a niche within Peer-to-Peer Lending in that all the borrowers are owners of income producing commercial property (i.e. the loan is supported by real collateral) and lenders get the oppportunity to earn between 5-10% p.a. interest, paid monthly, on their savings.