SEC stops Goodpocket, Easymoney online lending operations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Goodpocket and Easymoney Lending Corporation to stop conducting lending operations without the necessary licenses from the commission.

In an order issued Jan 18, 2022, the commission en banc directed Goodpocket and Easymoney to immediately cease and desist from engaging in, carrying out, promoting, and facilitating any lending activity/transaction until they have secured the necessary approval and authorization from the SEC.

The companies, their owners, operators, promoters, representatives, and agents were further enjoined to cease from offering and advertising their lending business through the internet or any other media, and to remove all materials involving such.

The commission issued the order after finding that Goodpocket and Easymoney have been conducting lending activities despite not being registered as a corporation.

Accordingly, both companies have no certificates of authority to operate as a lending or financing company.

Republic Act 9474, or the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007 (LCRA), requires persons or entities operating as lending companies to register as corporations and to secure from the SEC the necessary authority to operate.

“Thus, the act of these online lending operators in offering and providing loans to the public constitutes actual fraud which was intentionally employed to lead the public into the belief that they are legally authorized to engage in the lending business which is not and has never been the case,” the commission en banc said.

The SEC has received complaints about the companies’ unfair collection processes, including the posting of libelous statements against borrowers on social media and the sending of such statements to their phone contacts.

“The acts of these unregistered online lending operators in illegally offering and providing loans to the public, charging high interest rates, and subjecting its debtors to unfair treatment through abusive and even libelous language in collecting the loaned amount, have no place in a society that is governed by and faithfully adheres to positive laws,” it added.

The SEC continues to monitor lending and financing companies for their compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To date, the commission has canceled the licenses of 36 financing/lending companies due to various violations of applicable rules and regulations.

It has also revoked the certificate of registration of a total of 2,081 lending companies for their failure to secure the requisite certificate of authority, pursuant to the LCRA.

In total, 60 online lending applications have been ordered to cease operations for lack of authority to operate as a lending or financing company.

To see the list of licensed lending and financing companies and their registration status, one can visit the lending and financing companies corner on the SEC website at https://www.sec.gov.ph/lending-companies-and-financing-companies-2/lending-companies-and-financing-companies. (SEC)