Loanpal, formerly Paramount Equity LLC, is a California-based finance technology company that provides financing options for the residential solar industry. The company was founded in 2003 as Paramount Equity and was later rebranded to Loanpal. As of 2019, Loanpal is responsible for 30% of all new residential loans in the U.S. and is the top solar lender in the country. The company employs about 525 people and has won Sacramento Business Journals "A+ Employee Choice Award" in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Loanpal is a finance technology company headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Loanpal offers consumers access to a variety of residential lending products including mortgages, solar financing and home improvement loans. The company has loaned more than $27 billion to over 125,000 customers across 50 states. Loanpal is an approved seller-service of both government sponsored entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and has raised over $635 million in funding for its consumer finance loans. 80% of the top 50 solar operations use the Loanpal platform.
History
Loanpal, originally named Paramount Equity Mortgage, was founded in 2003 by Hayes Barnard, Jason Walker and Matt Dawson. The company was incorporated in California to provide residential mortgage loans. Although they launched in California’s Sacramento Valley, the company quickly started branching out to other states and is now lending nationwide. In 2006, the founders launched an insurance company focused on auto and home insurance. After 10+ years offering insurance services, the company sold its insurance company to Brown and Brown. In 2009, the founders saw another opportunity to enter the quickly emerging residential solar market and Paramount Solar was established. After building an efficient residential solar sales and marketing platform, the company was approached in 2013 by SolarCity and Paramount Solar was sold in a transaction valued at approximately $120 million. In 2011, Loanpal took on an equity investment from Guthy-Renker, the nation's largest direct-to-consumer marketing company. In December 2017, Paramount began originating residential solar loans and later rebranded as Loanpal. In 2017, the company was chosen as the Best Places to Work by the Sacramento Business Journal. In 2019, Loanpal announced a partnership with PenFed Credit Union. The companies use Loanpal’s technology platform to make clean energy products more accessible to homeowners. Under the partnership, PenFed uses Loanpal’s platform to deploy capital, while Loanpal manages the lending experience, including installer management, origination, funding, and servicing. As of 2019, Loanpal is responsible for 30% of all new residential loans in the U.S. and is the top solar lender in the country. In 2020, the team launched its online platform for financing additional energy-efficient home improvement products including battery storage, roofing, windows, landscaping and turf, LED lighting, water efficiency, and HVAC systems. In 2020, Loanpal was selected as one of Inc.’s Best Workplaces. In June 2020, Goldman Sachs securitized $459 million worth of Loanpal loans they had previously purchased and expanded their warehouse facility to $300 million with Loanpal. Goldman Sachs also committed to buying $320 million in loans from Loanpal. Loanpal offers homeowners the option of bundling their solar loans into conventional mortgages. This allows customers to spread payments out over decades and lowers costs. Bundled loans are written in two steps: first, solar panel installers present Loanpal as a financing option. Then, once the solar project finance deal is complete, homeowners are given the option to tuck the loan into an overall refinancing of their mortgage. The solar loans are funded through warehouse lines with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Western Alliance Bancorp, and mortgages are sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. and others. Through Loanpal’s direct pay program, the company contributes $20 to GivePower for each loan sold. Each $20 contribution is enough to provide clean water for one person for 20 years.
