Orchard Platform, an analytics and investment platform focused on the global marketplace lending market, has announced a partnership with Mainspring Funding, a leading provider of aggregation and sales of small business loans. Through this partnership, institutional investors using Orchard will have access to loan portfolios and single loans originated by Mainspring Funding.
Founded in 2013, Orchard has quickly established itself as the platform of choice for institutional investors and loan originators in the rapidly expanding marketplace lending space. One of Mainspring Funding’s core originating companies was founded in 2009 and today produces small and mid-ticket equipment finance. The equipment finance industry — marked by traditional lending practices — is an $827 billion a year industry. Mainspring Funding makes an unprecedented move by embracing Orchard as a technology partner and online lending for new types of loan distribution to investors.
Mainspring Funding’s co-founder and chief credit officer, Rob Snow stated, “Our objective is to make the origination and purchase of small business loans more efficient. The marketplace model is advantageous to us from a scale, diversification and speed perspective and Orchard helps us bridge the technology gap. Mainspring Funding currently has millions in loans that Orchard can instantly expose to investors, which used to take days.”
“We’re really excited about partnering with Mainspring Funding and bringing them onto Orchard’s platform,” explained Matt Burton, CEO and co-founder of Orchard. “This is a great example of how the next generation of credit is spinning up around the world as more traditional businesses are able to leverage technology and tap into new funding sources, and institutional investors find a new asset class.”
“We believe Orchard’s partnership with Mainspring Funding is a milestone for marketplace lending,” David Snitkof, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Orchard, noted. “The technology that powers Orchard’s marketplace is expected to allow Mainspring Funding to distribute its loans to a large and diverse group of institutional investors in a scalable and data-driven way.”
“Marketplace lending continues to grow and Orchard is at the center of the movement,” added Burton. “The marriage of data and technology, and its impact on the allocation of credit has made a positive impression on small businesses and individuals on a global scale. Orchard is helping provide reach for investors and expand product offerings for originators, and we believe there will only be more upside as the industry moves ahead.”
This partnership — and others like it — demonstrates the continued growth and maturation of marketplace lending, a market expected to grow to more than $1 trillion over the coming decade. Orchard is the latest development in the funding and distribution of loans, enhancing the speed and efficiency of lending, and more importantly, increasing access to credit and reducing borrowing costs for small businesses and consumers.