SEC: KingABC Lending’s license revocation final and executory

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said its revocation of the Certification of Authority (CA) of KingABC Lending Corp. is “final and executory” after it was found to have had unfair debt collection practices.

In a statement on Wednesday, the commission said its Corporate Governance and Finance Department (CGFD) denied the motion for reconsideration filed by KingABC Lending “for the lack of merit.” The entity also failed to file an appeal within the allowed period.

KingABC Lending operated online lending platforms Pondo Loan, Start Loan, Green Loan, and Loan Club.

In June, the entity was issued a revocation order after it was found committing 15 violations of the SEC Memorandum Circular No. 18, Series of 2019 (MC 18) or the Prohibition on Unfair Debt Collection Practices of Financing Companies and Lending Companies.

This is on top of 53 other complaints filed against the entity for its debt collection practices.

“The CGFD found KingABC to have threatened borrowers with shaming 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,” the SEC said.

It also used obscenities, insults, and profane language whenever it collects debt as well as threatened to sue borrowers on made-up legal basis.

KingABC Lending has already been penalized twice for violating MC 18. With a third violation, it risked the imposition of a monetary fine, suspension, or the revocation of its CA, “depending on the facts, circumstances, and gravity of the case.”

When KingABC Lending filed for a motion of reconsideration, it argued that the 15 complaints filed “merely contained allegations without proof” and that the number of complaints was not enough to justify the revocation of its CA.

However, the CGFD denied the motion in a resolution dated Aug. 2, saying that the pieces of evidence it had on record were enough to warrant the revocation of KingABC Lending’s license.

“A review of all the screenshots of messages submitted by the 15 complainants, including the 53 others who also filed complaints against the respondents reveal commonalities and recurring patterns, including the substance of the threats and sentence construction of the said messages,” the resolution was quoted as saying.

The SEC’s CGFD also said that KingABC Lending also admitted that its agents were “unlawful” and committed “unauthorized and unrighteous misconduct” towards borrowers. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte