The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued cease and desist orders against 12 more online operators engaged in lending activities without the authority to do so.

The corporate regulator said it served the orders against A&V Lending Mobile, A&V Lending Investor, A.V. Lending Corporation, Cashaku, Cashaso, CashEnergy, Happy Loan, Peso Pagasa, Vito Lending Corp., Phily Kredit, Rainbow-Cash and Rainbowcash.Ph Lending Corp.

It enjoined the owners, operators and other people acting on behalf of the online lending platforms to immediately cease and desist from promoting and facilitating unauthorized lending activities, as this violates section 4 of Republic Act 9474, or the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007, which requires lending companies to be established as a corporation.

Moreover, lending firms also need the authority of the SEC to operate. The SEC said its findings revealed that the online entities did not secure the requirements before conducting their lending activities.

It said that it found no records of registration of A&V Lending Mobile’s purported operator, A&V Lending Investor.

“A certain A.V. Lending Corporation turned up in the SEC database, but its registration has already been revoked. Meanwhile, Peso Pagasa and Rainbow-Cash are purportedly operated by Vito Lending Corp. and Rainbowcash.Ph Lending Corp., respectively. However, no such corporations are recorded in the Commission’s database,” the SEC said.

Citing section 12 of the same law, the SEC said individuals found engaged in lending business without authority from the commission may be fined P10,000 to P50,000, or imprisonment of six months to 10 years or both.