Eyebrows were raised earlier this year with the U.S. Treasury announced a request for comment among the alternative finance and marketplace lending community, a move that not only implied the Treasury is interested in the emerging industry, but one that signaled to some that regulators may be headed toward a tougher stance on the market.
Now, some of the market players have begun submitting their comments. Small business lending marketplace OnDeck Capital is one of them, and the company announced Wednesday (Sept. 30) that it has officially responded to regulators.
[bctt tweet=”OnDeck has officially responded to the Treasury Department”]
“OnDeck is 100 percent focused on small business and increasing Mina Street’s access to capital,” OnDeck CEO Noah Breslow said in the submission. “We greatly appreciate the Treasury Department’s interest in learning more about how our lending and technology innovation are helping Main Street grow and thrive, and look forward to serving as a resource for policymakers to help facilitate the responsible growth of our sector.”
The remarks were made in response to the Treasury’s July request for information and input from members of the alternative lending community. The request, the department said, is an effort “to study the potential for online marketplace lending to expand access to credit and how the financial regulatory framework should evolve to support the safe growth of the industry.”
Some analysts say that the Treasury’s request for comment does not mean a harsher stance against alternative lenders, and instead simply suggests that the department would like to forge closer ties with the industry.
However, some industry experts have been musing about the possibility, and the need, for stricter rules to regulate interest and fee rates, mitigate risk and enforce similar policies that traditional banks must follow.
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