• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
TechLending Club

Lending Club Alleges Ex-CEO Took Loans to Boost Volumes

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 28, 2016, 2:10 PM ET
US-ECONOMY-LENDING CLUB
DON EMMERT—AFP
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Lending Club alleged on Tuesday that its founder and former Chief Executive Officer Renaud Laplanche took out loans from the online lender in order to inflate the company’s volumes.

Laplanche and his family took out the loans from Lending Club in December 2009, just months before the company announced a major capital raising from outside investors. Loan volumes are a key metric for investors to determine online lenders’ value.

A spokesman for Laplanche declined to comment. The French entrepreneur left Lending Club in May after the company uncovered other unrelated loan irregularities, sending shockwaves through an industry already strained by faltering investor appetite for loans, increasing defaults and the possibility of heightened regulation.

Lending Club said on Tuesday that loan volumes in the second quarter have dropped by roughly a third from the previous quarter and it would cut 12% of its workforce, or 179 roles, in response.

It said that interim CEO Scott Sanborn would replace Laplanche at the helm. Hans Morris, who had been interim executive chairman, will take the role of chairman, the company said.

Shares of Lending Club (LC), which are down around 40% since Laplanche’s departure, rose 4.2% to $4.48. The company’s December 2014 IPO priced at $15.

San Francisco-based Lending Club is by far the largest of the so-called marketplace lenders, which sell their consumer and small business loans on to investors. Before Laplanche’s departure, it was considered by many investors and analysts to be the industry’s standard bearer.

But an internal review of the company’s business practices has rattled the industry. Lending Club said on Tuesday that it had also uncovered that investment funds managed by a subsidiary of the company did not follow accounting standards when valuing loans. It will reimburse $800,000 to affected investors.

For more about Lending Club, watch:

The same internal review had found that Laplanche and his family had taken out 32 loans on the platform in the second half of December 2009 to boost the company’s reported volumes for the month.

The loans totaled around $722,800, nearly 1% of Lending Club’s total volume in the fourth quarter of 2009. All the loans have been repaid, the company said.

Lending Club raised $24.5 million from investors including Foundation Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Canaan Partners in April 2010.

“The company is confident that there are no other situations in which Mr. Laplanche inappropriately originated loans in his or his family’s name during periods after December 2009,” Lending Club said in a filing.

When it announced Laplanche’s departure in May, Lending Club said an internal probe had found that employees had falsified documentation when selling $22 million of loans to an investor.

Lending Club also said then that Laplanche had not disclosed his stake in a fund in which the company later made an investment.

The company will hold its annual shareholder meeting later on Tuesday. It was originally scheduled for June 7 but LendingClub adjourned it for three weeks to give it more time to review the state of its business.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

holland
Arts & EntertainmentMovies
‘The audience is telling the industry something’: even IMAX is stunned by Christopher Nolan’s runaway ‘Odyssey’
By Tatiana SatauaJuly 21, 2026
49 minutes ago
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looking up.
CybersecurityOpenAI
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
1 hour ago
A family crisis inspired Bill Ackman to spend $260 million to create a massive brain research institute in Manhattan
InnovationBill Ackman
A family crisis inspired Bill Ackman to spend $260 million to create a massive brain research institute in Manhattan
By Jeff John RobertsJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Kid watching social media
PoliticsSocial Media
France adopts bill to ban kids under 15 from using social media
By The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Christopher Nolan interacts with fans at Odyssey premier
Arts & EntertainmentHollywood
‘He’s an analog man in a digital AI world’: Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ made back its $250M budget in 3 days without industrywide AI cost cutting
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 21, 2026
3 hours ago
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis
AIEye on AI
A FINRA for AI? The idea from Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is gaining momentum. But is it any good?
By Jeremy KahnJuly 21, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago
The Treasury is walking a tightrope on U.S. debt by relying so much on short-term rates that are at the mercy of a suddenly very hawkish Fed
Economy
The Treasury is walking a tightrope on U.S. debt by relying so much on short-term rates that are at the mercy of a suddenly very hawkish Fed
By Jason MaJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
Jamie Dimon won't put more of his own money into the long end of the bond market right now—thanks to the $39 trillion national debt
Economy
Jamie Dimon won't put more of his own money into the long end of the bond market right now—thanks to the $39 trillion national debt
By Eleanor PringleJuly 21, 2026
10 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.