The Wall Street establishment is fighting back
Now the table's turned.
Wells Fargo announced Tuesday that it will start providing online loans for small businesses through FastFlex, a program that's been in testing last August.
Borrowers need to pay weekly in the program, which offers one-year loans ranging from $10,000 to $35,000, according to Wells Fargo's press release. They can also draw funds as soon as the next business day.
"With a $100 billion lending goal, we want to make every responsible small business loan we can. FastFlex Small Business Loan will help by offering short-term credit through an easy, fast-decision application process that includes competitive interest rates, clear terms and as-soon-as next day funding," Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo's head of small business, said in the statement.
Well Fargo's not the first to try and compete with the online lending startups. JPMorgan Chase partnered with OnDeck Capital to offer up to $250,000 in loans for its 4 million small business customers. Big banks are also backing online lending startups that are supposed to be disrupting them.
The lending startups aim to bypass traditional banks and make it cheaper and faster to get loans online, and investors once loved them. Now they are getting more skeptical as Lending Club- the largest lender by volume- is under fire for its faulty loans, which sent its stock tanking. Investors are also worried about the valuation of online lending firms and how they will handle tougher regulatory standards.
While their tech rivals are taking a beating, there's no better time for Wall Street establishment to up their game.