Responsible Business Lending Coalition Announces First Executive Director

For immediate release: April 16, 2024

​CONTACT:

Cassie Mills | VP, Communications

(202) 289-6271 | cmills@smallbusinessmajority.org

Washington, D.C., April 16, 2024 -- The Responsible Business Lending Coalition (RBLC), a network of nonprofit and for-profit lenders, investors, and small business advocates committed to expanding access to responsible financing for the nation’s small business owners, is pleased to announce today that Louis Caditz-Peck will serve as the coalition’s first Executive Director. 

Louis has been a leader in the RBLC since its founding in 2015, including co-authoring the Coalition’s Small Business Borrowers' Bill of Rights, which has become a cross-sector consensus on the standards for responsible small business financing practices.

Just as the RBLC itself is a cross-sector organization, Louis comes to this new role with a background in small business financing as a practitioner and policy advocate in fintech, bank, CDFI, and nonprofit advocacy organizations. After serving as a small business lender at the CDFI Self-Help Credit Union, Louis joined the fintech company LendingClub to launch its expansion into small business lending. The financing program that Louis proposed served more than 10,000 small businesses, while modeling responsible practices based on the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights and achieving high rates of representation of minority- and women-owned businesses. To reach even more underserved entrepreneurs, Louis grew that business line into an award-winning partnership with Accion Opportunity Fund, which combines the complementary strengths of fintechs and CDFIs.

As Senior Director of Public Policy at LendingClub, Louis helped to pass seven federal and state laws to improve practices and catalyze innovation in the small business financing market and co-founded the Marketplace Lending Association and American Fintech Council trade groups. From 2021-2023, Louis served as an appointed member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) Consumer Advisory Board.

In this next phase of the RBLC’s organizational development, Louis will support the Coalition’s board in implementing its new strategic plan, which includes a strong focus on deeper engagement with industry and with stakeholders and partners who share the Coalition’s mission.

"Over the past 10 years, the RBLC has changed the small business financing market for the better,” said Louis. “It has started a movement that is raising up fairer and more transparent business financing practices, while advocating for legislation around the country to protect small businesses and support innovation. I'm grateful to be joining the leaders of this incredible coalition and look forward to what we'll accomplish together."

The RBLC also expresses its gratitude to the Feighan Team, a woman-owned government relations firm dedicated to empowering community development organizations, which has staffed the Coalition since 2016 and played a significant role in elevating awareness of the RBLC’s mission and advancing key RBLC policy objectives. 

“For the past eight years, the Feighan Team played a critical role in the RBLC’s successes at the state and federal level and helped position the RBLC for continued success,” said Joyce Klein, chair of the Responsible Business Lending Coalition. “We could not have asked for a more committed and experienced partner. As we move forward to implement our new strategic plan, we are thrilled to have Louis at the helm to usher us into our next phase as we seek to improve the financing marketplace for all small business owners.”

“We are extremely proud to have helped the RBLC lay a foundation and become an important voice for small businesses owners across the country, and we are thrilled about the Coalition’s prospects for continued success under Louis’s leadership,” said Alison Feighan, Feighan Team President.

In the weeks and months ahead, the Coalition will provide more updates about its plans to continue improving the small business financing industry to meet the needs of small business borrowers. You can reach Louis directly at: Louis@borrowersbillofrights.org.

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ABOUT THE RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS LENDING COALITION​

The Responsible Business Lending Coalition (RBLC) is the leading cross-sector voice on small business financial protection. The coalition includes nonprofit and for-profit CDFIs, fintechs, investors, and small business advocates that share a commitment to innovation in small business lending and serious concerns about the rise of irresponsible small business lending. The coalition created the Small Business Borrowers' Bill of Rights, the first cross-sector consensus on the rights that small business owners deserve and what financing providers, brokers and lead generators can do to uphold those rights. Over 90 small business lenders, brokers and lead generators, and advocacy organizations have endorsed these standards. Members of the Responsible Business Lending Coalition include Accion Opportunity Fund, the Aspen Institute, BlueVine, Camino Financial, Community Investment Management, LendingClub, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Opportunity Finance Network, the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, and Small Business Majority. For more information, visit ​borrowersbillofrights.org.