Messages

1

Investors - LC / Re: STRATA check distribution and fee and resulting 1099-R

« on: July 14, 2019, 02:37:05 AM »

I did a partial transfer in May.  Within my LC account, I withdrew the funds to Strata.  I filled out the transfer forms on Vanguard's website, printed them out, and mailed them off without being notarized.  About a week later, Strata said they mailed the check to Vanguard.  Vanguard shows they received it a week later, and then it was another week before the funds were available for investing.  Took about a month in all.  Fee for partial transfer was $25.  Not sure how that affects taxes.  I'm thinking it probably won't.

2

Investors - LC / Re: Tax treatment of lending club

« on: May 30, 2019, 08:04:53 AM »

I think you have a good grip on how LC is taxed.  Some things to think about:

• If you have a lot invested, the interest income can bump you into a higher tax bracket.
• If you have a lot invested and since LC does not withhold taxes, you can be in for a nasty surprise come tax season unless you adjust your W-4.
• If you invested in stocks/mutual funds/real estate instead and held on to it for over a year, you have the advantage of them being taxed at the more favorable long-term capital gains rate.
• I think the unhappiness really stems from a combination of having a large amount of write-offs (bad loans), little to no capital gains to offset, and having to roll over the losses into another year because of the $3k cap.

   

3

Investors - LC / Re: 1099 Spreadsheet for Accountant

« on: May 16, 2019, 02:09:26 AM »

LC lets you download your tax forms in PDF or XLS format.  XLS is Excel format.  You might supply both to your accountant and let them use whatever they prefer.  Neither require a password to open.

4

Foliofn - LC / Re: investor fee

« on: January 08, 2019, 11:34:40 AM »

1% fee is taken from all borrower payments no matter how you acquired the note.

5

Foliofn - LC / Re: loan/note availability, calculating return, newbie questions

« on: January 02, 2019, 01:22:59 AM »

I hate to sound like a Debbie Downer, but the retail marketplace is on the decline.  We make up 7% of LC's business now and falling.

This forum used to be much more active, but LC got greedy and sold investors a bunch of bad loans in the last few years.  Many of us old timers have or are in the process of winding down our portfolios because of the lackluster returns and unfavorable tax treatment.  My returns have been looking a little better the last few months despite no new investments, but only time will tell if LC can be trusted again.

FolioFN is strictly a take it or leave it marketplace.  No bidding.

For calculating returns, the XIRR function in spreadsheet software (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.) is probably the best method.  Peter has a blog entry about it here:  https://www.lendacademy.com/different-ways-to-calculate-p2p-lending-returns/

6

Investors - LC / Re: Is LC no longer interested in retail investors?

« on: October 07, 2018, 08:16:05 PM »

From the latest available SEC filings, 7% of loan origination funding came from self-directed/retail investors and falling. (source:  https://www.lendacademy.com/roundup-of-q2-2018-earnings-greensky-ondeck-lendingclub/)  LC hasn't cared about the retail investor in a long time, IMHO.  CD rates are very close to outpacing my LC returns, and it just isn't worth my time hunting down new loans to invest my idle cash.  There was a time when I really liked the steady returns and security of this investment and told everyone I knew about it.  I wish I could find something similar where they gave a crap.

7

Investors - LC / Re: Worst Month Yet

« on: July 06, 2018, 11:33:16 AM »

Another good LC month. Starting to look more like 5% to 6% reality rather than a statistical fluctuation.
My delinquency rate has been down the past 6 months. Another positive indicator.

Really?  I'm investing in mostly B's and C's, and I'm hovering around a 4% annualized return.  Charge-offs have been steady since February (about .5%/month of my total portfolio).

8

Investors - LC / Re: New Platform

« on: July 03, 2018, 12:56:43 PM »

@kib If anyone important at LC is reading this thread, I think you made your point brilliantly.   

9

Investors - LC / Higher Interest Rates

« on: June 29, 2018, 05:45:45 PM »

Just got a new e-mail from LC.  This is a bit of good news for those of us who are still investing:

Higher interest rates for investors.
Hi Storm,
As you know, our goal at LendingClub is to provide value to both sides of our marketplace—access to attractive rates for borrowers, and an opportunity for competitive returns for investors.
To maintain marketplace balance, we adapt and recalibrate often based on a changing macro environment, competitive insights, supply and demand dynamics, credit performance, investor feedback and more.
In response to the changing interest rate environment and feedback from investors like you, interest rates are increasing for LendingClub grades A-E effective today, June 29, 2018, by a weighted average of approximately 50 basis points for each grade. Please see the new interest rates below and click here for additional details by subgrade.
Interest rates on the LendingClub platform are influenced by a variety of factors, including the supply and demand for credit, the competitive landscape, investor feedback, and the macroeconomic environment.
The decision to raise rates is in line with the overall interest rate environment shifting from historic lows. The Federal Reserve has increased rates 1.50% over the past two years, including a recent increase of 25 basis points on June 13, 2018. As of its June increase, the Federal Funds rate target is 1.75% to 2%—its highest level in a decade. Two additional interest rate hikes are expected this year.
As another sign of the changing interest rate ecosystem, interest rates on 10-Year Treasury Notes have increased 35% over the past 12 months. In response to and in anticipation of higher rates, our investors are looking for higher interest rates from all fixed income assets.
We will continue to monitor the interest rate environment to determine whether future increases are necessary. You can also see here for more on the factors that influence interest rates on the LendingClub platform overall.
These interest rate changes will not impact the interest rates of the LendingClub Notes you already own. However, you may want to consider these rate changes when making future investment decisions. You can easily update your investment criteria within your account.
As always, please feel free to reach out to us at investing@lendingclub.com with any questions.
Best regards,
The LendingClub Team

10

Investors - LC / Re: New Platform

« on: June 28, 2018, 03:08:25 PM »

They also removed the download notes feature.  And if you click on a daily activity you used to be able to copy and paste that day's payment information into Excel.  Now it's not possible without writing some kind of macro.  Annoying and an ugly interface.

I asked LC about the download feature.  They said only a few users were using it so they got rid of it.

After logging in, you can still use this direct link.  Not sure for how long.

https://www.lendingclub.com/account/notesRawDataExtended.action

11

Investors - LC / Re: Account Liquidation- How did you get the last of your notes to sell?

« on: May 27, 2018, 05:53:35 PM »

The business model didn't work.

They were just scripts.  I would think the business would pretty much run itself.  Bluevestment's pricing was reasonable which is why I signed up.  The other services need to rethink their pricing because with the lower returns, they would be taking out a serious chunk of my profits.  Just more of an incentive to brush up on my programming skills and create my own auto-invest script.

12

BlueVestment / Re: Bluevestment Down Again

« on: May 17, 2018, 07:17:24 PM »

Bump?

Website has been down for a long time.  No auto-invests in several months.  I think it is safe to say Bluevestment is dead.  Hope the owner doesn't go on a spending spree with my credit card info.

13

Investors - LC / Re: FTC Files Complaint Against LC, Accuses of Deceptive Practices

« on: May 04, 2018, 10:16:53 PM »

I was genuinely curious why everyone formed the viewpoint they did.  At a time when alternative facts and fake news are all too common, it never hurts to think critically about the information we are given and where it originates before accepting it. 

I was expecting somebody would inform me that someone at the FTC has ties to a competitor or the banking industry and wants to see LC go down in flames.  A unanimous vote by the two FTC commissioners on opposite ends of the political spectrum hardly strikes me as political.

Reading between the lines of the FTC case and press releases, I believe the charges were brought on because of the lack of urgency by LC to address the complaints.  The case has screen shots showing how the origination fee was buried during the application process as of a few years ago.  It is hard to argue one way or another about the other charges without more specifics.  I was taught at a young age the customer is always right, and if they are going to the trouble of filing multiple FTC complaints, then things need to change.  Instead of refuting each charge, LC should have issued a blanket apology and said its working to improve its loan application process and servicing.  That is Public Relations 101.

14

Investors - LC / Re: FTC Files Complaint Against LC, Accuses of Deceptive Practices

« on: May 03, 2018, 07:11:59 PM »

If you scroll up, Peter says, "I should preface these statements by saying that I have had a long, close relationship with LendingClub. I have been an investor in the loans since 2009, an equity investor since their IPO in 2014 and LendingClub has been a sponsor of every LendIt conference since 2013. So, I am hardly impartial in this matter."

As of last week when the charges were announced, there were one Democrat and one Republican/chairperson running the FTC.  The Democrat resigned Saturday.  On Tuesday, four new commissioners were sworn in to fill the vacancies.  The current chair was nominated by the President and is waiting to be approved for a judgeship on the Federal Claims Court before giving up her current position which expires in September.

I will ask again...What proof do you have that the FTC charges are political?  What makes you think the charges are baseless?

sources:  https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/26/ftc-commissioners-senate-approval-1108262
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/03/trump-federal-trade-commission-ohlhausen-511570

15

Investors - LC / Re: FTC Files Complaint Against LC, Accuses of Deceptive Practices

« on: May 03, 2018, 03:38:16 AM »

What does this issue have to do with them going bankrupt? They have a billion dollars in assets, a huge line of credit they can tap into and tens of millions of dollars in free cash flow. I really doubt institutional investors are worried about lending club going bankrupt in the span of 3 years(life of the loan) because of political statement by FTC which worse case scenario would result in a fine (which it won't because they have no case)
Also, in the event of bankruptcy, they also have contracts with third party servicing platforms to service the loans.

I'm just pointing out that LC may have to spend some money to reverse the trajectory of their falling stock price.

What proof do you have that the FTC charges are political?  What makes you think the charges are false?  I can't remember another time when Washington has been so pro-business.  Seems odd they would single out LC.