SEC shuts down CredLadder
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered online lending platform CredLadder to immediately stop its operations over unauthorized lending activities and abusive collection practices.
In a cease and desist order, the SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department said CredLadder had continued operating even after the regulator issued an advisory against the platform in June.
The SEC said CredLadder was not among the recorded online lending platforms in its database.
The name also did not appear in the Department of Trade and Industry’s Business Name Registration System.
CredLadder allegedly imposed excessive interest charges and sent humiliating or threatening messages to borrowers.
The SEC said these actions constituted abusive collection or debt recovery practices prohibited under the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act and its implementing rules and regulations.
The regulator received reports that indicate CredLadder used FlexiFund, FundXpress, QuickPesa and Paymatic as remittance agents.
The mobile application was available through Google Play, while its lending services were advertised on Facebook.
The SEC issued an advisory against CredLadder on June 10 and posted it on its website on June 19.
The advisory warned that CredLadder, also known as CredLadder: Credit Insights, was neither registered with the SEC nor included in its list of recorded online lending platforms.
Despite the warning, the platform continued its lending and financing activities, the regulator said.
The SEC found CredLadder’s operations in violation of the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007.
