E-Loan Inc, the Dublin, California-based online lending company, has announced revenues of $5.0m for the third quarter of 1999, compared with $2.1m for the equivalent period of 1998. Net loss for the quarter came to $20.2m, from $3.5m this time last year. Executives say investors shouldn’t be alarmed at the level of spending. For a start, mortgage applications to E-Loan increased 38%, even as total mortgage applications for the industry declined 26%. The company added auto loans to its product lines through the acquisition of CarFinance.com, and forged partnerships with Providian to provide credit cards and with Loanwise.com to provide small business loans. Joint ventures in the UK, Europe, Japan and Australia called for significant hiring. In short, the heavy loss doesn’t necessarily undermine the business plan, executives say. Two factors in this quarter – the strong growth in E-Loan’s home purchase business and the increase in applications relative to the rest of the mortgage industry – demonstrate that our business model continues to capitalize on a long-term opportunity to improve the loan process for all customers, said CEO Chris Larsen.
