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  • May 2019
  • Article
  • Review of Financial Studies

Marketplace Lending: A New Banking Paradigm?

By: Boris Vallée and Yao Zeng
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

Marketplace lending relies on large-scale loan screening by investors, a major deviation from the traditional banking paradigm. Theoretically, participation of sophisticated investors in marketplace lending improves screening outcomes but also creates adverse selection. In maximizing loan volume, the platform trades of these two forces by choosing intermediate levels of platform pre-screening and information provision to investors. We use novel investor-level data to test these predictions. We empirically show that more sophisticated investors screen loans differently and systematically outperform less sophisticated investors. However, the outperformance shrinks when the platform reduces information provision to investors, consistent with platforms managing adverse selection.

Keywords

Marketplace Lending; Screening; Sophisticated Investors; Adverse Selection; Financing and Loans; Performance; Information

Citation

Vallée, Boris, and Yao Zeng. "Marketplace Lending: A New Banking Paradigm?" Review of Financial Studies 32, no. 5 (May 2019): 1939–1982.
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About The Author

Boris Vallee

Finance
→More Publications

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  • Big Blue: Starting a Real Estate Firm By: Boris Vallée and Sean Bracken
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  • The Big Blue: Starting a Real Estate Firm By: Boris Vallee and Nikodem Szumilo
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