LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Michael Perito: Yes. No, it is. Thanks for that. And then just, I guess, kind of a big picture question, Scott. I mean, obviously it’s a tough environment just to make kind of definitive statements. But I guess one element that’s kind of coming to my mind here as I think of other banks in my coverage universe now, like diversity can often help. And obviously, you guys are pretty heavily tied to the personal lending asset class, which is obviously what you do so well. But just curious what your kind of high-level thoughts around that are, I mean, does it make sense longer term to diversify the business more? I mean just kind of more of a philosophical question. I’m just curious how you think about it?

Scott Sanborn: Yes. I mean we are certainly thinking about this in a couple of phases that we’ll be pursuing in parallel, but some will reach fruition more quickly. One is transitioning the model, as we’ve talked about, from 100% marketplace revenue to where we are now, call it, 50-50 interest income to marketplace to more on balance, more of the revenue coming off the balance sheet because it is a more resilient income stream than the marketplace revenue is. The marketplace has real value. It’s a capital-light way to grow. We can serve customers. We wouldn’t serve with the bank balance sheet. But as we’re seeing, it is less resilient in the face of market shocks like we have today. So that’s one part of the transition that we are eager to continue.

And I think last year shows you that the power of when that is working together, and you can think for yourself as the balance sheet gets bigger and you maintain the marketplace, we think that will be pretty powerful as an earnings generator. And then yes, the second piece which we are committed to but are slowing down this year is really finding other ways we can help our consumers. And we know it’s a very valuable consumer. They are strong credit, high income, and they like us. And so we are eager to do more for them and that is our plan. It’s just that, I think this year, getting new credit products off the ground and services off the ground is, that takes a bit of time, and it requires investments. So we’ll be, we are slowing it down, but we are not stopping it.

Michael Perito: Yes. Okay. And then just one, last one for me, I want to make sure I heard this correctly. Did you guys say that the commercial lending team from the stay over from the Radius Banc was kind of no longer with you guys? And so therefore, if so, would we be safe to assume that the commercial balances will kind of run down to nothing from this point forward? Or did I misinterpret that?

Scott Sanborn: So there are three pieces to commercial. There’s the GGL, the SBA lending, commercial real estate and equipment finance. So the GGL business, which is closer and what we do in terms of, those small €“ those are smaller businesses that are closer to the consumer. It’s also a variable rate product that has similar dynamics where there’s a robust market should you choose to sell it, but you can also hold it. So, I’d say that we are the set that piece, that Government Guaranteed Lending piece, we are continuing to grow. But commercial real estate and equipment finance, in this environment just not as attractive returns for the bank or for shareholders. So, we aren’t originating new loans there. So yes, over time you could expect those balances to go down. Now they paid down more slowly than

Michael Perito: Yes, that was going to be my follow-up. Maybe for Drew, just what’s the amortization there, because it’s correct to assume that those will be replaced with more profitable personal loans if you are keeping the balance sheet flat correct?