Lending Club, A “Safe Alternative” To Traditional Banking

If there's one thing Renaud Laplanche can't stress enough, it's his dedication to allaying the fears of wary investors. As the co-founder and CEO of Lending Club, he wants everyone to know about the safety and security of his financial community. “I think what happens is that, as the ratings come in from our user base, and all the chatter online on social networks and blogs, with early investors and early borrowers talking about their experiences, has been very positive and is really helping the mass-market, look at Lending Club as a new but safe alternative,” Laplanche told Benzinga during a recent interview. On the borrower side, Laplanche said that it's no different from banking online. “We have all these anti-bot, anti-phishing technologies you can expect from an online banking service,” he said. “On the investor side, there are certainly risks tied to investing. Lending Club notes that you're buying an unsecured loan. So there are risks, but these risks can be appreciated in the context of [an investment or loan]. We give a tremendous amount of data on the website that helps investors really appreciate the risks and returns made for Lending Club.” To hear more from Lending Club's co-founder and CEO – whose personal investments include Apple AAPL – don't miss Benzinga's full interview.