Profiles · Principals
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Executive
- Programs
- PPP
- Updated
The profile
Founder and CEO of Bluevine, which reports facilitating roughly $8.9 billion in PPP loans through partner banks; Bluevine is one of the companies examined in the House fintech report.
Identity and role
Eyal Lifshitz is co-founder and CEO of Bluevine, a Redwood City small-business fintech he started in 2013. He signed the March 24, 2020 letter to Congress as Bluevine's "Founder & CEO." Bluevine processed and originated PPP loans that were legally booked through partner banks, and it is one of the signatory companies the December 2022 House fintech-PPP report examined; the report found that Bluevine, "although initially observing high levels of fraud," appeared "to have adapted to ongoing fraud threats better than Kabbage, Womply, and Blueacorn."
Biography
The Booth profile and his own founder story describe a role at Greylock IL and a Booth MBA. He founded Bluevine in 2013, starting with invoice factoring and moving into lines of credit and digital business banking (founder story). The company's venture funding history is not documented in the sources we have.
The March 24, 2020 letter and pandemic relief
Lifshitz signed the March 24, 2020 coalition letter, which asked Treasury to direct "upwards of $500 billion" to small businesses through non-bank and online lenders and stated, "We seek no gain from this crisis."
Bluevine became a Treasury- and SBA-approved fintech PPP lender that originated loans but booked them through partner banks, primarily Celtic Bank and Cross River Bank. The company's 2020 impact report claimed roughly $4.5 billion to more than 155,000 businesses in 2020; the House Select Subcommittee report records about $8.9 billion across 2020 and 2021 to more than 300,000 businesses. Celtic and Cross River also booked PPP loans for other fintech partners, so neither bank's PPP total measures Bluevine's volume. In a May 2020 industry panel reported by Banking Dive, Lifshitz argued that nonbank lenders had become a necessary part of the recovery.
No PPP enforcement action or class action against Bluevine has been found. The House Select Subcommittee's report (we have a copy) examined Bluevine; its findings concerned suspicious-activity reporting and the role of its partner bank Celtic — congressional findings, not adjudications.
Where they are now (2025–2026)
Lifshitz remains co-founder and CEO of Bluevine, which is independent and focused on small-business digital banking (company disclosures and trade-association Q&A).
Sources held in this archive
Original source documents and archived captures
- Banking Dive, "Why BFS Capital chose to sit out PPP" Lifshitz panel quotes, May 26, 2020
- Bluevine becomes a direct lender for PPP newsroom
- "Why I Started Bluevine" founder story
- University of Chicago Booth, "A Lifeline for Small Businesses" Lifshitz profile
- OnDeck letter to Congress Mar 24, 2020 (archived text)
- House Select Subcommittee fintech-PPP report, Bluevine section (Dec. 1, 2022)
Sources
- Bluevine becomes a direct lender for PPP (newsroom): Bluevine becomes a direct lender for PPP newsroom (original: bluevine.com · stored capture)
- University of Chicago Booth, "A Lifeline for Small Businesses" (Lifshitz profile): University of Chicago Booth, "A Lifeline for Small Businesses" Lifshitz profile (original: chicagobooth.edu · stored capture)
- Banking Dive, "Why BFS Capital chose to sit out PPP" (Lifshitz panel quotes, May 26, 2020): Banking Dive BFS referred customers to "the Lendios of the world," May 26, 2020 (original: bankingdive.com · stored capture)
- BankBeat, "Report: Fintechs fueled PPP fraud, stricter oversight needed" (House report coverage): BankBeat, "Report: Fintechs fueled PPP fraud, stricter oversight needed" House report coverage (original: bankbeat.biz · stored capture) (link now dead; copy taken from the Internet Archive, 9 June 2023)
- "Why I Started Bluevine" (founder story): "Why I Started Bluevine" founder story (original: bluevine.com · stored capture)
- OnDeck letter to Congress (Mar 24, 2020): OnDeck letter to Congress Mar. 24, 2020 (original: ondeck.com) our copy of the letter
- LinkedIn, Eyal Lifshitz profile (self-reported): LinkedIn, Jon Coss (original: linkedin.com)