Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders Scott Sanborn, CEO at LendingClub — Bank on It: Innovative lending for better financial futures
Summary:
According to recent surveys, 43% of Americans expect to add to their debt in the next six months in order to make ends meet. Most will use credit card debt to bridge the gap, but high interest rates could see this put the financial futures of many Americans at risk. Innovative solutions to help manage that debt can make all the difference.
Today's guest is Scott Sanborn, CEO of LendingClub, the only full-spectrum FinTech Marketplace Bank that has helped more than 4 million Americans save billions of dollars with no plan to slow down any time soon. A LendingClub veteran since 2010, Scott served first as the company's Chief Marketing Officer, then Chief Operating Officer before stepping into the CEO position in 2016. Scott was instrumental in steering the company through a prolonged period of triple-digit growth running up to its 2014 IPO, the largest tech IPO that year, and has long been a driving force in the organization.
In this episode, Scott and I talk about the company's impressive and consistent growth, why their services are accessible to a wider range of customers than their competitors, and how their 2021 acquisition of a digital bank has transformed their business.
Highlights:
- Scott traces LendingClub's path from its founding to its recent bank acquisition (03:17)
- Scott discusses what sets LendingClub apart from their competitors (06:13)
- Scott explains how the bank acquisition expanded LendingClub's TAM (09:15)
- How does LendingClub use technology to improve their customer service? (12:01)
- Scott unpacks LendingClub's positive flywheel, and what is driving their repeat business (14:41)
- Scott teases the products and services we can expect to see from LendingClub over the next few years (18:37)
- How will AI be a game changer down the road? (21:34)
- How is LendingClub positioned to help Americans deal with inflation and rising interest rates? (23:15)
- What do shareholders misunderstand about LendingClub? (27:31)
- Scott shares how his passion for surfing informs his work (29:28)
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If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, elizabeth@lowerstreet.co.