When LendingClub announced that they were looking to acquire Radius Bank in February last year everyone assumed it would take a long time to close. Then when the pandemic struck most people thought that the 12-15 month timeline that was initially put forward would be stretched to 18 months or more.
But that proved to be a wrong assumption. They needed to wait for the requisite government approvals and the final piece came through two weeks ago. So, here we are less than a year from the initial announcement and LendingClub shared today that the deal has now closed.
Here is the official statement from CEO Scott Sanborn:
This is a historic day for LendingClub and a true watershed moment for the industry. The move to digital-first banking is accelerating, and we are now positioned to capture that trend to grow our membership base, to more deeply engage with our existing 3 million members, and to help them keep more of what they earn and earn more on what they keep. By bringing together the unique assets of these two industry-leading businesses we can build on our history of improving the financial health of everyday Americans while significantly accelerating our growth trajectory.
Now, the work begins. How will LendingClub leverage their new bank? What exactly will a marketplace bank look like? What new investor products will we see? There are far more questions than answers right now but LendingClub has the chance to create a whole new take on digital banking. With more than three million customers this new digital bank will already have significant scale on its side.
We will be keeping an eye on new developments and will share as LendingClub Bank starts to take shape.
Peter Renton is the chairman and co-founder of LendIt Fintech, the world’s first and largest digital media and events company focused on fintech. Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010 and he is the author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, the first and longest-running fintech interview series. Peter has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The New York Times, CNBC, CNN, Fortune, NPR, Fox Business News, the Financial Times, and dozens of other publications.