Personal Loans Surge to a Record High
- LendingClub, Social Finance push a ‘core banking product’
- Goldman Sachs among established banks with an online lender
Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
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Heather Turner and her husband needed a few thousand dollars to jump-start the adoption of a teenager from Ukraine, and their timing was good: Lenders led by online firms have opened the spigot for personal loans, even if it comes at a steep price.
Personal loans surged to a record this year and are the fastest-growing U.S. consumer-lending category, according to data from credit bureau TransUnion. Outstanding balances rose about 18 percent in the first quarter to $120 billion. Fintech companies originated 36 percent of total personal loans in 2017 compared with less than 1 percent in 2010, Chicago-based TransUnion said.