Lending Club Announces Additional Investment in LC Advisors Fund from Peter Thomson

SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lending Club (http://www.lendingclub.com), the leading platform for investing in and obtaining personal loans, today announced that Peter J. Thomson, chairman of Thomvest and director of Thomson Reuters Corporation, has become a cornerstone investor in the Broad-Based Consumer Credit (Q) Fund managed by LC Advisors. This investment is in addition to Mr. Thomson's September 2011 cornerstone investment in the Conservative Consumer Credit fund, also managed by LC Advisors. LC Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lending Club, serves as the General Partner of both Funds.

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"Since becoming an investor in LC Advisors' Conservative Consumer Credit Fund last fall, which focuses on higher-credit-quality, the investment's performance has exceeded our expectations," Mr. Thomson said. "Our experience on the Lending Club platform has made us very comfortable in both doubling our investment and moving to the higher yielding portion of Lending Club's prime consumer credit portfolio."

As of July 1, 2012, the Broad-Based Consumer Credit (Q) Fund has invested in more than 16,000 unique 36-month and 60-month consumer loans across Lending Club's full range of credit grades, and has averaged a 9.36 percent trailing 12-month Net Fund Return.[1]  The Conservative Consumer Credit Fund, established in April 2011, invests in the two highest grades of 36-month consumer loans enabled by Lending Club, and has averaged a 5.69 percent trailing 12-month Net Fund Return.[1]

"Thomvest's approach of beginning with a test account and substantially increasing their commitment to the funds after observing their initial performance is a common behavior among our investors, and it has played a key role in driving Lending Club's growth in the last two years," said Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche. "Mr. Thomson's substantial new commitment to the Lending Club platform also demonstrates the growing interest of institutional investors in this emerging asset class.  We are thrilled to see Thomvest expanding the scope of their engagement."

Lending Club reduces the cost of traditional banking to offer borrowers better rates and investors better returns. As of July 18, the company has enabled more than $750 million in cumulative loans since inception in 2007 and is currently facilitating more than $50 million in loan issuance per month. By focusing on high-credit-quality borrowers, the Lending Club platform has generated 20 consecutive quarters of positive returns for investors.

About Lending Club

Lending Club utilizes technology and innovation to reduce the cost of traditional banking and offer borrowers better rates and investors better returns. Lending Club started operations in 2007 and has been recognized for its results and innovation by the Harvard Business Review and Dow Jones, was named one of Forbes' America's Most Promising Companies in 2011 and recognized as a 2012 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. Lending Club is based in San Francisco, California. More information is available at: http://www.lendingclub.com. Currently only residents of the following states may invest in Lending Club notes: CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY (accredited investors), LA, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, NH, NV, NY, RI, SC, SD, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, or WY.

Additional information about Lending Club is available in the prospectus for Lending Club's notes, which can be obtained on Lending Club's website at https://www.lendingclub.com/info/prospectus.action.

About LC Advisors

Lending Club Advisors, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lending Club, is a registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment advisor.  LC Advisors was founded in 2011 and registered in November 2011.

About Peter Thomson

Peter J. Thomson is a Director of Thomson Reuters Corporation and Chairman of Thomvest.  Mr. Thomson's enthusiasm for technology and its increasing impact on our lives led to an investment strategy over ten years ago of investing in early stage companies that were distinguished by the strength of their management teams, their degree of technical differentiation, and their ability to address large and growing markets.  Prior to founding Thomvest, Mr. Thomson worked on three continents for subsidiaries of the Woodbridge Company of Toronto, during which he gained a broad range of operational and strategic experience.  Mr. Thomson also currently serves as the Co-Chairman of the Woodbridge Company as well as a Director of Public Mobile Inc.

About Thomvest

Thomvest is a venture capital firm committed to the success of our entrepreneur partners. We primarily focus on investments in areas where we have deep expertise and experience, including software, technology-enabled services, and hardware businesses. The capital we invest is our own, enabling us to be more creative, flexible and patient than most venture investors. It takes time to build great companies and we're committed to supporting our entrepreneurs throughout their journey. That's why more than two-thirds of the companies that we have funded in the last decade have either gone public, been acquired, or continue to grow as independent businesses. To learn more about Thomvest, please visit www.thomvest.com.

Information in this press release is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Some of the statements in this above are "forward-looking statements." The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "will," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.  Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments may lose value over time and no return is guaranteed.

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[1] Net Fund Return measures interest earned minus the difference in Net Asset Value of the Fund over a time period minus an assumed annual management fee of 0.70%

SOURCE Lending Club