E-Loan

E-Loan was founded by Janina Pawlowski and Christopher Larsen in 1997. Former co-workers at a California-based mortgage lender, Pawlowski and Larsen had disagreed with their supervisor's on-the-job demands and decided to build their own mortgage business together. They took a chance on creating an online-based lending service, just as the Internet became ubiquitous. At the time, E-Loan's services included purchase and refinance mortgage loans, home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, and auto loans.

Banco Popular Acquisition

In August 2005, the Puerto Rico-based commercial bank, Banco Popular, acquired E-Loan for $300 million. Banco Popular's parent company, Popular Inc., known for being the largest financial institution in Puerto Rico had $46 billion in assets, more than 135 branches in the U.S., and more than 280 branches in Puerto Rico at the time it purchased E-Loan.

The goal of the acquisition was to increase E-Loan's access to financial holdings, and therefore, its loan production capacity. With this increased lending capacity, both Popular and E-Loan sought to capitalize on a cost advantage through economies of scale.

In October 2008, E-Loan's parent company, Popular, Inc. said E-Loan would no longer operate as a direct mortgage lender in 2009, but would continue to provide certificates of deposit and savings accounts. Operational, general and administrative support functions would be transferred to other Popular subsidiaries. The company subsequently moved its headquarters in 2009 from Pleasanton, California to Rosemont, Illinois.

Company officials said customers who have already obtained loans through E-Loan would not be affected as they were transitioned to another subsidiary of Popular.