The concept behind the company is to provide consumers the tools and the systems that would allow them to compare the offerings of banks and other financial institutions. It aims to provide customers the opportunity to stop doing all the legwork when it comes to looking for the best deals to meet their financial needs. As a young man who was in need of the perfect mortgage loan, Lebda realized that it was time consuming and complicated to go bank to bank and check offer by offer. From his experience, he created the tool that would empower consumers to let banks work for them, instead of the other way around.
While the offerings of Lendingtree, Inc. remains customer-centric, the operations of the company also continue to support the business of lenders. By creating an avenue where lenders and borrowers meet, banks and other financial institutions are able to filter their customer target and offer the best solutions that would meet the demands of clients. The services offered by the company include tools and resources that would help them to comparison-shop for home equity loans, mortgage loans, and various lines of credit. The offerings of the business also include free credit score reports. The operations of the business are divided into four divisions, namely home services, education, lending and auto.
It was in 1996 that Doug Lebda created the business and at one point, the company was acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp. After the business was spun off in 2008, it also made its initial public offering on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. It continues to market its stocks using the symbol TREE.