Rebanked? Wells Fargo to offer short-term, easy credit to small biz

Wells Fargo wants to lend $100 billion in five years and wants to do it quick.

The bank’s new loan product, FastFlex, ostensibly an answer to easy online loans will provide short-term credit to small businesses to be processed in a day.

To qualify, businesses need to have been Wells Fargo customers for at least a year and have strong cash inflows. The loan size will range from $10,000 to $35,000 with a one-year term and payments will be automatically deducted from the customer’s deposit account.

“With a $100 billion lending goal, we want to make every responsible small business loan we can,” said Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo’s head of small business in a news release.

The announcement comes at a time when loan originations by online lenders is slowing and the industry is grappling with growing pains. Lending Club’s stock tanked 35 percent after CEO Renaud Laplanche resigned amidst a loan manipulation scandal and last week, Prosper laid off 171 employees and shut down its office in Utah.

Is the baton being passed on to the banks again?