SEC orders Umeta Credit Lending to halt operations

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against Umeta Credit Lending Corp. and its associated online lending platforms (OLPs) for unauthorized operations and allegedly engaging in unfair debt collection practices.

In a cease-and-desist order dated Feb. 18, the SEC’s Financing and Lending Companies Department (FLCD) instructed Umeta Credit and its platforms, including FinLedger – Smart Ledger, Cash Twig, Meta Cash, and MorePautang – Loan Hub, to immediately stop promoting or conducting lending activities.

“The prohibition covers the operation and promotion of the OLPs it controls, such as Meta Cash, MorePautang – Loan Hub, Cash Twig, FinLedger – Smart Ledger, and any other platform, application, website, or digital interface operated under other names,” the Commission said in a statement on Friday.

The order stemmed from an FLCD verification showing that the company operated undisclosed OLPs without SEC approval, violating SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 19, s. 2019, which requires full disclosure by financing and lending firms.

Umeta Credit Lending also violated SEC MC No. 10, s. 2021, which imposed a moratorium on new OLPs starting Nov. 5, 2021.

“[Umeta Credit Lending’s] decision to deploy and maintain multiple OLPs, under varying names and digital identities, without proper recording with the Commission, constitutes a deliberate circumvention of regulatory safeguards. This is not a case of mere technical lapse or administrative oversight. It is a calculated evasion of supervision,” the order read.

The SEC also determined that Umeta Credit Lending used unfair debt collection tactics, based on more than 300 informal complaints received from January 2025 to January 2026.

Five of those complaints advanced to formal administrative cases for breaching SEC MC No. 18, Series of 2019, which bans unfair collection practices by lending companies.

Additionally, the firm ignored five show-cause letters from the SEC, amounting to a “deliberate refusal to engage with lawful authority” and “blatant disregard” of the Commission’s oversight role.

“The convergence of the following circumstances: (a) unauthorized operation of multiple OLPs; (b) hundreds of complaints alleging unfair collection practices; and (c) the [company’s] repeated refusal to respond to five formal regulatory directives creates a clear and present danger to financial consumers,” the order read.

“Accordingly, the issuance of a CDO is necessary to immediately halt the [Umeta Credit Lending’s] operations and prevent further injury to the borrowing public pending final determination of its administrative liability,” it added.

BusinessWorld was unable to reach Umeta Credit Lending and its associated OLPs, as their websites and Facebook pages could not be found. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno