This white paper has been prepared by the Department of the Treasury ("Treasury") to continue the work initiated by the issuance of the Request for Information ("RFI") "Public Input on Expanding Access to Credit through Online Marketplace Lending." This white paper establishes an overview of the evolving market landscape, reviews stakeholder opinions, and provides policy recommendations. This paper also acknowledges the benefits and risks associated with online marketplace lending, and highlights certain best practices applicable both to established and emerging market participants.

Advances in technology and the availability of data are changing the way consumers and small businesses secure financing. Online marketplace lending has emerged as an industry offering faster credit for consumers and small businesses. Through this effort, Treasury took steps to understand the potential opportunities and risks presented by this evolving industry. By engaging directly with industry, Treasury hoped to foster discourse about how this industry could best serve the financial needs of the American public. Treasury received approximately 100 responses to the RFI from online marketplace lenders, trade associations, consumer and small business advocates, academics, investors, and financial institutions.