That was almost a third of the total US market for new personal loans — a bigger share than banks or credit unions or other traditional consumer finance companies — and compares with just 4 per cent in 2012 and 28 per cent in 2015. Demand for personal loans has swelled as consumers load up on debt and low interest rates encourage refinancing. The wave of new lending has increased total personal loan balances to more than $100bn in the US. Expansion has been fuelled by the online platforms, which have sought to capitalise on consumers’ loss of trust in big finance and post-crisis regulation that has curbed banks’ ability to take on risk.

https://www.ft.com/content/4cf113a4-bf39-11e7-b8a3-38a6e068f464