What happened
Shares of the digital marketplace bank LendingClub (LC 1.36%) jumped more than 15% in the late morning today, following a big day of gains Friday.
So what
The company's stock price continues to rise after several big developments last week. Along with reporting earnings, the company, which makes personal loans, laid out its much-anticipated transformation plan.
That plan comes after LendingClub earlier this year completed its acquisition of the digital bank Radius Bank.
Image source: LendingClub.
The acquisition represents a second chance for the company. LendingClub, which at one point traded for more than $128 per share in 2014, saw its stock fall below $5 per share during the pandemic.
In 2016, the company was involved in a scandal in which its former CEO was charged with improperly making returns on some of the company's products look better than they actually were.
Now what
The acquisition of the bank could be a game changer for LendingClub. It significantly reduces the company's cost to fund its loans by allowing it to use cheap deposits that LendingClub can now hold on its balance sheet. It also allows the company to retain some loans on its balance sheet and make interest income on them.
On Friday, LendingClub got a significant boost from the famous stock picker Cathie Wood, whose exchange-traded fund ARK FinTech Innovation (NYSEMKT:ARKF) purchased roughly 228,500 shares of the company; shares rose 18%.
LendingClub still has a lot of work to do and a lot to prove, but there is definitely life again at the once-beleaguered company.
