SEC closes down 6 more online lending operators

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued cease and desist orders covering six online lending operators operating without necessary permits.

Under a Commission en banc order issued on October 24, the SEC ordered the operators and owners of Batis Loan, Happy Credit, Easy Cash, Wahana Credit & Loan Corp., PesoMaMa, and Light Kredit to immediately stop doing any lending activity.

“Certifications issued by the Commission’s Company Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD) showed that Batis Loan, Happy Credit, Easy Cash, Wahana Credit & Loan Corp., PesoMaMa, and Light Kredit were not registered as corporations or partnerships,” the SEC said.

“The CRMD further attested that the online lending operators were not issued the necessary certificates of authority to operate as lending companies nor had pending applications for such,” it added.

Under the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007, all lending companies must be established as a corporation, and that no lending company is allowed to conduct business unless granted an authority to operate by the SEC.

Violators of the law face fines ranging from P10,000 to P50,000, or imprisonment of six months to 10 years, or both.

The cease and desist order extends to the agents, representatives and promoters, owners of hosting sites, and all persons acting for and on behalf of the online lending operators.

The commission also ordered the lending operators to delete or remove promotional presentations and offerings from the internet, including the lending applications they operate.

“Considering that these Online Lending Operators are not incorporated entities or have no Certificate of Authority to Operate as Lending Companies or Financing Companies, the lending activities and transaction are illegal and must be immediately stopped by this Commission,” the order read.

The SEC has already issued three cease and desist orders against 42 online lending apps for operating without incorporating and securing a certificate of authority. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News