Selling Subprime Loans to Wall Street Investors, This Time for Small Businesses

Online lender OnDeck has loaned small businesses more than $1 billion since 2007, financed by backers such as Google Ventures and Goldman Sachs. Now, the company is selling bonds backed by its high-cost, low-dollar-amount loans—a move OnDeck says will create new opportunities for Main Street merchants and Wall Street investors.

The $175 million offering is a “landmark in terms of creating a new asset class,” says Noah Breslow, chief executive of New York-based OnDeck. The company, which loaned small businesses $475 million last year, wants to raise money from a broader group of investors. Packaging loans into bonds will ultimately translate to more capital available to Main Street businesses at better interest rates, Breslow says.