Progreso Financiero Surpasses One Billion Dollars in Credit-Building, Affordable Loans for the Hispanic Community

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 19, 2014) - Progreso Financiero, a mission-driven, high growth financial services company serving the credit needs of the growing Hispanic market, announced that it has disbursed more than one billion dollars since making its first loan in 2006. Through its network of more than 110 locations, Progreso has provided over 700,000 loans to more than 370,000 customers, the majority of whom earn median incomes below $29,000.

"Progreso is committed to improving the lives of its customers and helping them realize a better future through responsible and affordable credit-building loans," said Raul Vazquez, CEO of Progreso Financiero. "This milestone is an important indicator of our growth as a company and our ability to eventually help all of America's financially underserved Hispanic population. By 2016, we wish to bring responsible credit to a million customers."

The average Progreso loan disbursed in 2014 is approximately $1,650 with a term of 14 months. Leveraging a proprietary risk-scoring platform that determines a customer's true capacity to afford a loan, Progreso is able to accurately assess loan applications from borrowers with little or no credit history to provide a responsibly structured and affordable credit-building loan.

Approximately half of new Progreso customers have no credit score when they receive their first loan. Yet after three successful small loans, a typical borrower is able to establish a median VantageScore ^® of 672, with the top 25% of customers achieving a VantageScore^® of 697.¹

Further, Progreso charges lower fees and interest than widely available alternatives. Using data from the California Department of Business Oversight, the Center for Responsible Lending, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, Progreso estimates that it has saved customers nearly $170 million in charges, or over an average of $435 per customer since disbursing its first loan.

Progreso's growth has been enabled by funding from select Venture Capital firms focused on financial services innovation including The Catalyst Fund of CFSI, Charles River Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, Greylock Partners, and Madrone Capital Partners, among others. Progreso completed a $47 million round of funding in August 2013 that included new investor Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Jules Maltz, General Partner at IVP, joined the Board of Directors after the round. The new funding has enabled Progreso to continue its sustained growth through investments in staff, locations, marketing, and its technology platform.

"Progreso is redefining small dollar lending in America," said IVP's Maltz. "The company's underwriting model and the responsible construction of its loan products give consumers affordable access to credit and provide a superior alternative to existing options."

"There are millions of hard-working Hispanics that lack the credit history to secure a traditional loan, but -- if given a chance -- would prove their credit-worthiness," continued Vazquez. "Our mission is to find and empower those individuals, families and small businesses to help them improve their lives."

 For more information about Progreso Financiero, please visit http://www.progressfin.com.

About Progreso Financiero
Progreso is a mission-driven, high growth financial services company providing credit-building, affordable loans that empower the more than 23 million emerging Hispanics in the United States who lack sufficient credit histories.

Progreso leverages its unique technology platform to perform automated risk scoring and augment back-office productivity. The service experience is designed with the Hispanic customer in mind and delivered through a network of more than 110 stores, open at convenient hours in neighborhoods where customers live and work, and three highly professional call centers. The staff at the stores and call centers speak Spanish and excel at understanding our Hispanic customers' needs.

¹ VantageScore® credit scores are marketed and sold independently by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion through licensing agreements with VantageScore Solutions.