Funding Circle Regulatory News (FCH)

Funding Circle Holdings plc

U.S. Small Business Administration Grants Funding Circle 7(a) SBLC Licence

Funding Circle Holdings plc ("Funding Circle") announces that its US business has received a formal notice from the US Small Business Administration (SBA) that its application has resulted in a tentative award for an SBA Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) licence to participate in its flagship 7(a) small business loan program.

Funding Circle will be permitted to begin originating 7(a) loans once all lender oversight requirements are met to the satisfaction of SBA and upon receipt of an executed Form 750, a Small Business Administration Loan Guaranty Agreement.

An SBLC licence permits Funding Circle to originate federal government guaranteed 7(a) loans up to $5 million nationwide across the U.S.

The 7(a) program, SBA’s primary business loan program which is annually authorised by the U.S. Congress to approve up to $36 billion of loans each year, provides loan guarantees to lenders that provide small businesses access to capital in circumstances where they might otherwise not be able to obtain the desired credit on reasonable terms and conditions without SBA assistance.

Funding Circle estimates it will be able to begin offering 7(a) Small Loans up to $500,000 alongside our existing core loan products in early 2024. The 7(a) Small Loan product carries an 85% guarantee for loans up to $150,000 and a 75% guarantee for loans over $150,000.

The SBA’s decision to award Funding Circle one of the first SBLC licences since 1982 is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to modernise the SBA and address persistent gaps in access to capital impacting small business owners and to grow the economy. The announcement follows a recent study published by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and Bank for International Settlements that found Funding Circle is “increasing access to capital at a lower cost for borrowers who are less likely to receive credit from traditional banks” and “predicting future loan performance more accurately than the conventional method to credit scoring, leading to better loan performance”.

Lisa Jacobs, Funding Circle CEO, says: “We’re delighted to be working with the SBA to help more small businesses in the US get the funding they need to win, using our data and technology to deliver a superior customer experience. This is an exciting milestone for Funding Circle in the US and will help us deliver on our medium-term strategy to attract and say yes to more businesses.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

For further details on the SBA 7(a) scheme, see: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/7a-loans

For details on the study published by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and Bank for International Settlements see: https://www.fundingcircle.com/us/resources/impact-of-fintech-lending-on-credit-access/

Enquiries:

Funding Circle Investor Relations

Morten Singleton (+44 7736 297 929)

ir@fundingcircle.com

Funding Circle Media Relations

Abigail Whittaker (+44 7989 876136)

press@fundingcircle.com

Joint corporate brokers

Investec: Mark James / Bruce Garrow (+44 20 7597 4000)

Deutsche Numis: Stephen Westgate / Jamie Loughborough (+44 20 7260 1000)

Headland Consultancy

Mike Smith / Stephen Malthouse (+44 20 3805 4822)

About Funding Circle:

Funding Circle (LSE: FCH) is the UK’s leading SME lending platform, with a material and growing presence in the US. Its mission is to build the place where small businesses get the funding they need to win.

Funding Circle enables small businesses to access funding – offering an unrivalled customer experience powered by data and technology.

For institutional investors, Funding Circle provides access to an alternative asset class in an underserved market, with robust and attractive returns.

Globally, Funding Circle has extended more than £16bn in credit to c.140,000 businesses.