FORT
LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- iBusiness Funding LLC
(iBusiness), the technology and lending services division of Ready
Capital Corporation (NYSE: RC), and Funding Circle Holdings plc are
pleased to announce a share purchase agreement, positioning
iBusiness Funding, LLC as the new owner of FC USA and its subsidiaries, contingent on the
return of its Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) license to the
SBA.
Founder and CEO of iBusiness Funding LLC Justin Levy
expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "We are thrilled to welcome
the exceptional FC USA team to the
iBusiness family. FC USA's mission
to be the largest SBA lender for loans under $500,000 aligns with our goal to support
underserved borrowers, the only difference is iBusiness achieves
this goal through many SBA-approved lenders in our
network."
Funding Circle CEO Lisa Jacobs
said, "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with
iBusiness Funding, one of the leading processors of loans to US
small businesses. In iBusiness, we have found a partner that shares
in our mission, and we look forward to seeing the success of the
combined entity."
Ready Capital CEO Thomas
Capasse said, "We're excited to acquire FC USA and expect the acquisition to yield
meaningful revenue and earnings to the combined company in the
years to come."
iBusiness Funding puts a heavy focus on compliance in small
business lending, and is particularly impressed with FC
USA's compliance program.
iBusiness Funding was built with a foundation of compliance with
SBA rules, as well as BSA, AML, and various other state, federal,
and banking regulations.
The combined entity will bring together FC USA 's embedded partnerships and automated,
tech enabled customer experience with iBusiness' Lending as a
Service (LaaS) and LenderAI product offerings to deliver a best in
class partner experience.
Levy further commented on the strategic direction stating:
"Throughout the due diligence process, we were continually
impressed with FC USA's compliance
program and their portfolio's industry-leading low default rates
for over a decade, even in COVID-impacted vintages, which was
especially noteworthy. FC USA has
uniquely uncovered the ability to implement bank-level compliance
at speed.
"After getting under the hood and seeing the processes and
procedures FC USA has in place, it
is no wonder that they were granted an SBLC license, as the
robustness of their compliance programs is more in line with a
large scale national bank as opposed to a FinTech – on top of their
industry-leading low default rates and great customer
experience.
"We are thrilled to offer these enhancements to our bank client
network. Given that our vision is to revolutionize small business
lending by supporting all banks and lenders looking to embrace
technology and streamline processes, FC US's SBLC license is not
essential to our business.
"Success to us is when a small business can quickly know with
certainty whether they are going to be approved by their bank or
lending institution, and if they aren't approved, having a roadmap
to a future approval and lower cost of financing. When getting a
business loan is as easy as getting a mortgage, then we know we've
done our job."
About iBusiness Funding, LLC
iBusiness Funding is a leading provider of lending solutions for
banks and lenders of all sizes with a specialization in SBA
lending. The company is dedicated to streamlining the business
lending process to allow lenders to efficiently deliver capital to
small and medium-sized businesses. iBusiness Funding has processed
over $7 billion in SBA loans to date, and the team
processes over 1,000 business loan applications through its
platform daily.
About Ready Capital Corporation
Ready Capital Corporation (NYSE: RC) is a multi-strategy real
estate finance company that originates, acquires, finances and
services lower-to-middle-market investor and owner occupied
commercial real estate loans. The Company specializes in loans
backed by commercial real estate, including agency multifamily,
investor, construction, and bridge as well as U.S. Small Business
Administration loans under its Section 7(a) program. Headquartered
in New York, New York, the Company
employs approximately 350 professionals nationwide.
About Funding Circle
Funding Circle (LSE: FCH) is a lending platform for small
business borrowers. Established in the UK in 2010, and now the
leading lending platform to SMEs, the Group also has a material and
growing presence in the US. Globally, Funding Circle has provided
£15bn in loans to c.135,000 businesses. For small business
borrowers, Funding Circle provides a leading-edge customer
experience, delivered through its technology, machine learning, and
data science, coupled with a human touch. Its solutions continue to
help customers access the funding they need to succeed. For lending
investors, Funding Circle provides access to an alternative asset
class in an underserved market and delivers robust and attractive
returns.
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SOURCE iBusiness Funding