ZestFinance Secures $150 Million in Funding From Fortress

Today ZestFinance, one of the fastest growing US financial technology companies, announced it has raised $150 million in financing from funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG), a leading global investment firm with approximately $70 billion in assets under management. Additionally, in a separate press release, ZestFinance announced it has received several awards this year for its unique workplace, talented team, and strong business growth.

The infusion of capital from Fortress will support the continued growth of the company’s Basix unsecured installment loan business and provide much-needed credit to millions of middle class Americans often denied loans by banks. This new capital brings ZestFinance’s overall funding to more than $250 million.

“The Fortress investment is a major vote of confidence from one of the largest and most successful consumer credit investors in the world,” said Douglas Merrill, Founder and CEO of ZestFinance. “This funding will enable us to extend the reach of Basix loans in the near-prime market, and further our mission of making fair and transparent credit available to everyone.”

ZestFinance has developed a unique credit-decisioning technology platform, built on machine learning, which analyzes tens of thousands of data points to effectively evaluate creditworthiness. ZestFinance’s technology identifies good borrowers in the near-prime credit segment where traditional credit scores indicate lower credit quality, giving the company’s Basix loans the ability to serve borrowers overlooked by banks.

“Middle-class Americans in the near-prime segment are underserved by traditional lenders, providing significant opportunity for innovative players who can effectively evaluate credit risk and serve these consumers,” said Dominick Ruggiero, Managing Director at Fortress Investment Group. “ZestFinance is a leading financial technology company poised for significant growth as it applies machine learning to disrupt consumer lending and meet the needs of US consumers.”

Fortress manages assets on behalf of approximately 1,700 institutional clients and private investors worldwide across a range of private equity, credit, liquid hedge funds and traditional asset management strategies.

About Basix Loans

Basix loans are available for a three-year term at fixed annual percentage rates (APR) from 26% to 36%. Monthly payment amounts and APR do not change over the loan’s lifetime. Loans currently range from $3,000 to $5,000.

Basix provides a 15-day grace period to give borrowers every opportunity to make on time payments. ZestFinance will provide Basix borrower payment performance to credit reporting agencies, helping responsible borrowers improve their credit history over time.

Basix simplifies the loan process with an easy-to-use online application, clear upfront pricing, low monthly payments, and the flexibility to save money by paying back early. People can apply for a loan at www.basixloan.com, and in minutes find out if they qualify.

About ZestFinance

ZestFinance, Inc. applies its unique credit-decisioning technology — based on data science and machine learning — to help lenders effectively predict credit risk so they can provide lower cost credit to people. The company also uses its technology to provide convenient, online loans to consumers. ZestFinance was founded in 2009 by Douglas Merrill and a team of former Google employees with the mission of making fair and transparent credit available to everyone. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. For more information, visit www.ZestFinance.com.

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