When and Why We Verify Income and Income Source
LendingClub uses a robust loan approval process. The statistical models we utilize consider hundreds of data points when evaluating a borrower's loan application, and occasionally identify applications that need additional confirmation. Two ways we do this are to seek income verification and income source verification. At times, we also conduct random income verification for testing and analysis
Since 2008, we have conducted either income verification or income source verification on 69.6% of issued loans.1 For income verification, loan applicants may be required to submit documents such as paystubs, W-2 forms, or other tax records that verify the income stated in their loan request. We may also attempt to verify the income or income source of these applicants by electronically checking their income data through a third-party provider. If an applicant fails to provide satisfactory information in response to an income verification request, or if we cannot electronically verify the income of select applicants, we may deny the loan or request additional information from the applicant.
We primarily target loans for income verification or income source verification in the following situations:
- Based on information from the applicant's credit profile or application;
- We detect conflicting or unusual information in the loan request (for example, the stated income is high relative to the stated job title of the borrower);
- We suspect a fraudulent loan request;
- Random selection to test our policies and for statistical analysis.