LendingClub Must Pass a High Bar for Regulatory Approval

LendingClub made big headlines with their acquisition announcement of Radius Bank and now the hard work begins as the company gears up for a 12 to 15 month scrutiny process; “This is, essentially, a guinea pig,” said Jacob Thompson, a Managing Director of investment banking at SAMCO Capital Markets, to American Banker. “This will be a test case of sorts for the regulators and likely there will be special obstacles to get over.”; there are three core areas that industry analysts believe regulators will want to examine closely; compliance shortcomings, is LendingClub complying with the Community Reinvestment Act; risk management review, are the correct staff in place to ensure the new bank will be able to manage potential risks; expect the unexpected, with this being the first deal of its kind in the U.S. regulators will be extra careful as they will be laying the groundwork for more deals in the future. American Banker