Blockchain lending startup Figure Technologies launched with a promise to disrupt home equity lending using cutting-edge technology, and it appears to be well on its way to achieving this mission.
The company announced Thursday that it closed on an asset-based financing facility on blockchain of up to $1 billion alongside Jefferies and WSFS Institutional Services.
The facility is located on Provenance.io, a blockchain platform developed by Figure last year that is used to originate, finance and sell HELOCs to banks, asset managers and credit funds.
The company said it has been working with Jefferies and WSFS – a division of WSFS Bank that is acting as trustee for Jefferies – for the last six months to structure and implement the financing facility on Provenance.
“We’ve already experienced the benefits of financing on Provenance.io,” said Brian McGrath, head of the Securitized Markets Group at Jefferies. “We’ve gained full transparency into the underlying assets, real-time access to loan performance and the process of accepting collateral has less friction than off chain.”
Figure said that last month, it originated more than $59 million of HELOCs on blockchain – providing every client with the five-minute approval and five-day funding that Figure promises.
Figure was launched last year by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, who announced his intention to leverage blockchain, AI and advanced analytics to elevate the lending process, especially for home equity.
The company has said it plans to introduce home improvement loans, HELOCs and sale-leaseback products for retirement, and so far it has raised $120 million in capital to fuel its mission.
It has more than 100 employees in offices in California, Nevada, Montana and Utah, and currently has two products on the market: the Figure Home Equity Loan and the sale-leaseback product, Figure Home Equity.
Now, with this major investment in play, Figure can realize its goal of offering speedy home equity access to the masses.
“With the financing facility now in place, Provenance.io can support the entire end-to-end financing of loans, from origination to funding to servicing to financing,” said Mike Cagney, CEO and co-founder of Figure. “It paves the way for the first securitization on chain, which will demonstrate the massive cost savings, risk reduction and liquidity benefits blockchain delivers.”
