LendingClub: Mobile App Features Drive Member Engagement and Loan Issuance

LendingClub is finding that its mobile app is reducing servicing costs, increasing interaction with members and boosting loan issuance.

In the time since the company added a free credit monitoring tool called DebtIQ to the app, it has seen 60% higher logins and a 30% increase in loan issuance among the enrolled members, LendingClub CEO Scott Sanborn said Tuesday (April 29) during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

“We’re currently working on new DebtIQ features to drive wider adoption, deeper engagement and even more issuance,” Sanborn said.

Part of that project will include incorporating artificial intelligence-powered spending intelligence functionality from LendingClub’s newly acquired app Cushion — a transaction that LendingClub announced Tuesday.

LendingClub will also incorporate the credit card management technology it added when it acquired intellectual property of Tally Technologies in October, Sanborn said.

The company also continues to improve its core personal loan offering, Sanborn said. For example, it enhanced its TopUp product by making it easy for members to refinance their non-LendingClub loans. This joins the product’s initial offering, which allows members to add an additional balance to an existing LendingClub loan as they refinance it.

“So, as you can hear, we have multiple tools to drive continued efficient growth,” Sanborn said.

LendingClub is making these moves at a time when it saw its loan originations grow 21% in the first quarter to reach $2 billion, according to a Tuesday earnings release.

The company attributed this increase to its product and marketing initiatives as well as strong investor demand in its loan marketplace.

Sanborn said during the call that there continues to be strong demand for debt consolidation.

“While a personal loan can be used for more than debt consolidation, there is a historically large credit card refinance opportunity that we are especially focused on penetrating,” Sanborn said. “Through a combination of product and experience innovation and marketing, we’re making great progress against our strategy with compelling proof points that it’s working.”

LendingClub wrote in a presentation released Tuesday in conjunction with the call that there is a “historically large total addressable market” for the company because both total outstanding consumer credit and credit card interest rates are near historic highs.

Looking ahead, LendingClub expects to see continued growth in originations, according to the presentation. The company’s guidance calls for total originations to rise to $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion in the second quarter and greater than $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter.

Sanborn said during the call that LendingClub’s buyer demand, balance sheet capacity, total addressable market, marketing vehicles, product roadmap and other factors have it well positioned for any macroeconomic environment.

“In a good environment, I would say we feel like we would really be set up to crush it,” Sanborn said. “In a tougher environment, I think we’re still poised to deliver.”

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