The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revoked the Certificate of Authority of KingABC Lending Corp. to operate as a lending company due to its unfair debt collection practices.
The company runs online lending platforms Pondo Loan, Start Loan, Green Loan and Loan Club.
In an order dated June 7, the SEC’s Corporate Governance and Finance Department found that KingABC committed 15 violations of the SEC’s memorandum circular on unfair debt collection practices of financing companies and lending companies.
The SEC said KingABC threatened to shame borrowers on social media by publishing their names as scammers and contacting people in the borrowers’ contact list despite not being named as co-makers or guarantors.
KingABC also used obscenities, insults and profane language in its debt collection, and threatened to sue borrowers based on made-up legal bases, the SEC said.
The agency has previously penalized KingABC for its first and second violations of its rule on collection practice. A third violation merits the imposition of a monetary fine, suspension or revocation of the company’s CA, depending on the facts, circumstances, and gravity of the case.
“It is likewise clear that at this point, the revocation of respondent’s CA is not merely appropriate, but rather necessitated by the gravity and number of its offenses,” the agency said in its order. Aside from KingABC’s 15 violations, at least 53 more complaints have been filed against the company for its debt collection practices.
“Even more telling is the fact that subsequent to the issuance of the Formal Charge, the abusive collection practices of the respondent only became worse and more hostile based on the evidence submitted by the complainants. The Department noted messages filled with death threats, profanities and other obnoxious and reprehensible language.”